Legends Never Die
by RubberduckyQuen
Summary: Alpha's voice was strong, filled with understanding and a fierce determination. “The Nine Realms have always been Asgard's responsibility. A concern that we have been facing for far too long is the difficulty of properly watching over and protecting each of them. That's why you're here. Nine Asgardians, nine warriors who are capable of watching over each Realm. You can learn, under
1. Prologue

"Harder! Faster! KEEP MOVING!" Hela's voice echoed across the training grounds.

Odin watched from the top balcony, adorned in his golden ceremonial armor. Hela drilled the Berserkers mercilessly, and anyone who was unable to keep up was demoted to the standard Einherjar around the castle. Hela was goal-driven, fast, effective, and fiercely loyal to the glory of Asgard, leaving no room for error in her designs. Her army was at peak-performance, and Odin was unsure what Hela's goals would be once she exhausted what resources the small kingdom had to offer. She was itching to fight, to conquer, to rule. She would be a strong queen, but she was a restless and irrational princess. Odin wouldn't be able to control her for long.

~*~

Hela stalked through the open doors of the throne room and approached the throne. "Father. I have come to speak with you."

Odin opened his mouth to reprimand his daughter, but shut it quickly to keep from swearing as he spotted a red book in Hela's hands.

"I believe you know this book?" Hela asked, holding it up.

Odin nodded. "I do."

"I came across it looking for new battle formations to learn from the ancient armies. It seems these Eternals created the land of Asgard for us, and set us as rulers over the other nine Realms. And here I wonder why we did not keep our word."

"That deal ended when they left us to die. My brothers and father died in battle with complete faith in the Eternals, without any one of them lifting a finger to help or rebuild in return."

Hela opened the book and walked the first staircase to the throne, displaying the last page. "Do you not see Asgard's symbol burned in agreement?"

"Do you not see theirs?"

Hela snapped the book closed. "It was not the first king who signed this, it was Asgard. We have a duty to honor our word. We have not only the means but also a duty to rule over the Nine Realms. Do you forget the consequences the Eternals imposed? Do you forget Ragnarok?"

Odin took a silent breath to keep calm. "That is an invitation to die for a group of people who have no loyalty to us."

"When they break their word, are we to do the same and become as weak as they?"

Odin's hand clenched around his staff. "We are not conquers!"

"Are we not to show our strength and superiority?"

"We lack strength."

"Do you not see my men training tirelessly day after day to take on the weakness of the other Realms? We are fierce in battle, and capable in strategy. The only one who lacks strength is he who does not use it."

"My father and his army had strength."

"Yes, but they died. We will not. Not now that I have accepted the Eternals Blessing."

Odin froze. "You did what?"

"I took the Eternal's blessing from where it was hidden beneath the castle."

"That does not belong to you." Odin whispered.

"Yes, it does," Hela retorted. "It belongs to anyone loyal to the Eternals in Asgard. Anyone who wants to make this kingdom as glorious as it was supposed to be."

"No one has taken that blessing since it was given to the first king of Asgard. My grandfather, King Buri."

Hela rolled her eyes. "Buri did not take the blessing. He hid away the eternal flame, rejecting the blessing of the power Alpha Eternal gave him. Bor didn't take it because he had too much faith the Eternals would save them!" Hela laughed. "And you. How did you expect to deal with those with power as the Eternals, if we did not have their blessing? Just imagine..." Hela walked the rest of the way up the stairs. "Imagine having worlds at your feet, and a perfect reason to make them that way."

~*~

"How much longer must this carnage last?" Odin's heart grew heavy with all the death that his daughter seemed to revel in.

"There are more worlds out there. Worlds that belong to the Eternals in the hands of usurpers. Just imagine how much power we will have over those inferior Realms, and in gratitude to us from Alpha Eternal, we will keep them."

"The Eternals care nothing of us! They give us their power only to do their bidding."

"Then even better; we reign unchallenged." Hela spread her arms out, basking in glory, and inflating her chest full of air.

Odin looked at her, standing on the floor, from the throne. "The Einherjar is exhausted. We can no longer wage war."

"Can't we? My Berserkers are still fit and strong. We are capable of conquering the universe."

Odin shook his head. "You have grown too ambitious my daughter."

"Wishing for what is not possible is ambitious. Taking what is available..."

"No. We fight no longer."

Hela's face fell. "You are growing weak, Father."

"Not weak enough. I know you already sent out the Berserkers to an unknown world. They will not come back. Heimdall was instructed to not let them back through the Bifrost."

"You think," Hela's voice turned scathing, "that I cannot let them back through myself? You are more foolish than I thought."

"You cannot do that from Hel. I, Odin Borson, as King of Asgard, revoke the blessing given to me by the Eternals, and banish you to Hel."

~*~

Thousands of years later, a woman with dark hair, leather jacket, and glowing, cursive 'L's on her face dropped to the floor of the Asgardian throne room. Guards around the perimeter were immediately on alert, throwing spears and thrusting swords bound for her head and chest. She parried and dodged them all with her long swords, slicing spears and wrists with expert speed and skill before throwing a force of energy at her attackers that hurled them backward into the wall. Odin stood up, pointing his scepter at her, but she spoke first.

"My name is Alpha Legend, and I am the daughter of Alpha Eternal."


	2. Chapter 1 - Sparks and Knives

Heimdall was the one who found me, a baby girl hidden in a small cave behind a waterfall, softly crying and alone, with no sign of the people who left me. He recounted the story every time I asked. How he noticed the swells of synergy, caused by powers I was far too young to control. How he took me to Odin, who was eager to add me to the handful of children the Legends were training to protect the Nine Realms. How little Odin actually cared for the life that was saved, only the purpose I would serve.

Heimdall was the one who raised me. He taught me how to refine my abilities, the likes of which meshed together perfectly with his own—contrasting to the point of similarity. He was the one who named me, Asariel, caring for me in a way the other children envied. Heimdall was a father to me. I loved him for it, and despite his hectic life and demanding responsibilities, I knew he loved me too.

I met the brothers when I was young, and I can hardly remember a time when I didn't know them. We were thick as thieves, nearly inseparable as we ran around the castle grounds, giggling as sparks burst from Thor's fingertips and golden tendrils swirled around my own. Loki always had more control over his abilities, shyly creating a double of himself or changing his appearance entirely. Over time, he grew more confident, mischief quickly lacing into his tricks. To the three of us, we were unstoppable, already ruling a kingdom that only one of us would inherit. This, naturally, was a conversation we had fairly often.

"What will you do if you're king?" I asked, my arms flung to either side as I balanced on the rails surrounding the small lake. Thor shrugged, tearing up a handful of grass before tossing it at Loki, who had been sticking flowers and leaves in Thor's hair behind his back.

"I would make sure that we are the strongest kingdom in all the realms," he decided, nodding firmly as he thought. "And…" Thor began to smile, and I knew he was going to say something ridiculous in an attempt to make me laugh. "I would make you marry me and be my queen!" he teased, leaping to his feet and bowing. His head tipped down so the flowers rained onto the ground beneath him.

I squealed, wrinkling my nose and sticking out my tongue at him. "Why would I do that? I am never going to marry anyone, even if you are a king."

"So you will marry Loki!" Thor shouted, swivelling to face his brother, whose face had gone bright red. "Unless he is the king. Father hasn't told us who will be yet."

"Well if I am king," Loki smiled, tossing another flower on top of the blond boy's head. "I would make you bring me piles and piles of sweets. And Asariel would be in charge of guarding the weapons. Because she is good at that, unlike you." He grinned, and Thor made a face at him.

~*~

One of the fondest memories of my childhood was a ridiculous idea that Loki proposed, which we plotted and planned for almost a week, longer than any of our other tricks. It centered around my complaints that I would never know what it was like to be royalty in the palace. I was just the child that was forced to endure the whispers and sympathy of never knowing my parents. Still, I didn't think anyone else could care for me the the way Heimdall did.

"Well," Loki said, speaking slowly, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "What if we disguise you? You and Thor could switch places for a day. You look similar enough."

Thor's face lit up. "Yes! Just switch clothes! Maybe cut your hair, because yours is a little longer than mine, but it's the same color. Maybe no one will even notice the switch."

So we went to work. It shouldn't have taken as long as it did to memorize the small tasks Thor had to do, mostly because he tended to ignore them regularly. But we did have to plan on how to sneak into the castle at night to swap, and we found the whole idea utterly hilarious.

Finally, we huddled in the corner of the castle, near the same lake we had been before, while the sun began to set. Thor brandished a pair of scissors, the light of the setting sun reflecting off of the sharp metal. "I found these on Mother's vanity," he whispered, bouncing slightly of the balls of his feet. "Loki should cut it, so he can look at mine at the same time."

Only twenty minutes later, my hair was chopped short, mimicking Thor's hair well enough, but very unnatural to me. I giggled at the pieces of hair that now sat in a ring around me, running my fingers over my head repeatedly. "This feels weird," I grinned, shaking my head so the blonde strands of hair fell into my face.

"I think it looks good," Loki murmured, his cheeks tinged pink but an earnest smile brightening his skinny face.

"I do look very handsome," Thor joked, and I threw my shoe at him. He dodged it narrowly, and we froze as it bounced down the small hill toward the undisturbed water. When it skid to a stop along the surface, Loki let out a snort of laughter, and I huffed before running after the now afloat shoe.

~*~

By the time morning had arrived, I had started to severely doubt our poorly formed plan. I was curled up in Thor's bed, his blankets wrapped tightly around me as I stared out the window, watching the sun rise over the glittering gold kingdom. Loki slept only a room over, which brought me some degree of comfort, but I still found myself anxiously waiting for someone to burst in and drag me to Odin's throne room. Though I didn't think what I was doing was necessarily bad, the fear of being caught quickly overwhelmed any reason. I finally swung my legs over the bed, dropping to the ground and padding across the hall to Loki's room.

The rest of the morning passed as a blur. Thor and I did share many similarities in appearance, though our eyes were drastically different; while Thor's were a deep blue, mine were a rich brown, a golden ring encircling the iris. Over the years, Loki had pointed out that when I used my magic, the ring expanded to fill in the rest of the iris with gold. I secretly delighted in this similarity I shared with Heimdall, though it showed a distinct difference between the Asgardian prince and I. Because of this, I kept my eyes down whenever passing guards and castle workers, but when Loki noticed, he only laughed and jabbed an elbow into my ribs.

"You won't get caught. The only thing they really notice is the hair and the clothes. I promise," he whispered, and I smiled in return.

~*~

By mid-afternoon, I was thrilled at the success of our 'mission', despite the fact that the only satisfaction I got out of it was a small bow from a passing warrior. Still, I could hardly stop smiling as Loki and I sprinted towards the Bifrost, making our way to the small space underneath it that served as my home.

Heimdall stayed positioned at the gatekeeper throughout most of the day, returning to that space to sleep. I'd spend most of my evenings sitting cross-legged in front of the spiralling stars and galaxies visible from the Bifrost. Once my eyes grew heavy, Heimdall would smile and lead me to my bed, whispering stories of far off lands, of wars and valiant heroes who protected their worlds. His voice was deep and soothing, and despite my best efforts, I always found myself nodding off before he could finish the stories. In the morning, I would beg to hear the endings, and he'd smile knowingly before answering.

"The universe is constantly shifting and adapting, giving new life and light to the world," he would say. "Each person leaves a new legacy, their own story intertwining with everyone else's. So, in this way, no story ever has an ending. What it has is a lesson."

"That doesn't make any sense," I would complain, crossing my arms defiantly as I glared at him.

Heimdall laughed, but he never exactly explained himself. He told me that if I stayed awake, I could hear an ending that night.

Heimdall was rarely down in the room below the Bifrost during the day, so I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw him staring out the space in the wall that revealed that expanse of space and light. Thor sat sheepishly on the edge of my bed. He looked up as we walked in, shrugging before glancing at Heimdall.

"You cut your hair?" He asked, turning slightly with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." My voice came out as a squeak, and I cleared my throat rapidly.

He nodded. "You three realize I can see the entire universe, correct?" Each of us nodded slowly, as if the thought had only then dawned on us. He smiled warmly before turning to face us fully. "Very well. As long as you two didn't do anything terrible in the castle, no one has to know."

My heart was pounding in my chest, even after he left, despite knowing there was no reason to be in trouble. Suddenly, Loki groaned, smacking a hand to his forehead.

"I am absolutely useless," he muttered under his breath, and then he started to laugh. "I could have just swapped your appearances. With magic."

A short span of time passed before Thor began to laugh, quickly followed by some stifled giggles from me. "Maybe next time?" Thor offered, swinging his legs amiably as I covered my smile with my hand, shoulders shaking slightly.

After that, Heimdall was slightly stricter with us, keeping an eye on us when we got too quiet or tried to sneak off into some remote corner of the castle. Naturally, we fought against his watchful eye, with varying degrees of success.

~*~

Almost every Asgardian had the ability to manipulate energy; however, my powers were entirely based around it. With an immense amount of concentration for my eight year old mind, I could physically move objects, create illusions out of thin air, or form protective barriers, among other abilities I hadn't even begun to attempt. Being young, I had trouble understanding, controlling, and learning to develop these abilities; I just saw them as magic tricks. Thor's powers were even more sporadic than my own, especially when he was emotional.

Loki was the genius of the group. His abilities reached far beyond sparks of lightning and energy manipulation, delving into true magic. His favorite trick was to change his form, though Thor and I each began to recognize the little behaviors that marked his illusions. Once, he changed himself into a snake, hiding in the grass until Thor picked him up in some sort of admiration. When he did, Loki popped back into his true form, shouting sharply before sticking a flimsy plastic knife between Thor's arm and side. The resulting shriek of surprise from the blond prince left us all doubled over in laughter, though Thor sulked for hours afterwards.

"He stabbed me," he grumbled, crossing his arms tightly over his chest.

"I don't think a plastic knife counts," I pointed out.

"Yes, it does."

"No way."

~*~

Over time, our childish banter evolved into a close friendship, a family even. I spent over ten years by Thor and Loki's side, fighting with them, defending them, even training with them. I looked up to them for everything, believed that I would never know a time I wasn't with them.

That all changed the day I walked into the Bifrost to see my father arguing with Odin, a dark haired woman close behind. Her dark, almost black, hair framed an even face with intelligent matching eyes. She was dressed in a dark grey t-shirt underneath a sleeveless, half unzipped, leather jacket that hugged her frame tightly. Matching the jacket was a pair of combat boots she tucked into black cargo pants. The other two men seemed to be ignoring her, but if her leather fingerless gloves, and twin swords strapped to her back were any indication, she was a force to be reckoned with. She walked with a power, straight posture, steps never faltering, and even though she was the shortest of the group, she seemed the most in control. "She's a child!" Heimdall rumbled, his golden eyes narrowed as his hand clenched the sword at his side.

"She's an asset," Odin retorted, relatively calm despite the warning in his voice. "You knew this would happen the day you brought her to me."

Heimdall scoffed, something I had never heard the man do. "She isn't trained. She has hardly spent eighteen years on Asgard, nothing in the eyes of your life. You can't expect her to fight for you, for this cause. Not now."

I stood, frozen, in the arched doorway of the Bifrost. My fingertips had started to buzz, an unfortunate tic as my apprehension triggered a small burst of power.

"She will learn. I would be more than willing to help her adapt, help her understand her power," the woman said calmly as she stepped forward. Odin held out his hand, a gesture for her to keep quiet. A mix of annoyance and anger dashed across her face, her eyes darkening slightly as the skin underneath turned a faint red-orange. She grabbed Odin's hand before he could retract it and spun him around to face her. "You are only ruling here because I allow it." The red-orange morphed into capital cursive 'L's twisting around her eyes. "That can change."

Odin swallowed. A faint surprise twisted in my stomach. I had never seen the king tolerate someone looking at him the wrong way, not to mention threatening him. Whoever this woman was, I couldn't help but feel a newfound sense of awe, along with slight fear, as I studied her more closely.

Heimdall's eyes remained fixed on the king's face, any surprise concerning the woman's outburst entirely hidden. "And what about your sons?"

Odin's chin tilted up, his cheek twitching slightly under his eyepatch. "They will understand."

The woman's gaze finally rolled towards me, and she straightened slightly. "Odin," she muttered, diverting the king's attention for the first time.

The three faces turned to meet my own confused and nervous gaze. The woman stepped forward, the only one to move as the two men watched wearily.

"Asariel," she began, nodding slightly as I stepped forward in return. "My name is Alpha Legend. I need your help."

~*~

Alpha led me into the castle, striding through the gold halls and glancing at me with a smile. "You know about the Legends stationed here?"

"Yes," I answered, my hands playing with the frayed fabric of my shawl. "They've been training the orphaned children. Odin has a mission for them. No one really knows what it is, though."

She nodded. "That's why I'm here. Why you're here, even. Those children are important, far more than they may realize." We turned a corner, now walking into part of the castle I had little knowledge of. "I want you to join them."

I swallowed, my fingertips once again buzzing. "I'm not orphaned. I have a father." I knew that was an excuse, but I was desperately searching for something to keep me here. He had always told me this would happen; I just never thought it would.

"But he's not your real father. Odin allowed him to raise you, but they both reached an understanding that this would happen." Her voice softened slightly. "You are incredibly powerful. Heimdall knew that the day he found you. He promised you a childhood, which is far more than what the other children had under Odin, but in the end, you were always one of them."

I stayed silent, but my heart began to thud in my chest, my throat constricting as tears sprang to my eyes. The sudden thought of leaving my home, to embark on some mission I might never return from, was terrifying. "What is this mission?"

Alpha stopped walking, instead looking out from a wide balcony hanging over the side of the castle. "Before I tell you, I want you to understand that this isn't going to change anything about you. You're still Asgardian. You still have a family here, and they will care about you no matter where you are." Her voice drifted slightly, her eyes glued onto the landscape before her. "This is a beautiful planet."

I nodded softly, giving a quick smile in an effort to offset the weight in my stomach. "It is."

A brief span of silence passed, and I slowly felt myself relax. Whatever this mission was, I had been destined to do it since the day I was found by Heimdall; this was my responsibility, whether either of us wanted it or not. I took a breath.

"You can tell me."

Alpha's voice was strong, filled with understanding and a fierce determination. "The Nine Realms have always been Asgard's responsibility. A concern that we have been facing for far too long is the difficulty of properly watching over and protecting each of them. That's why you're here. We need nine Asgardians, nine warriors who are capable of watching over each Realm. Do you know anything of the Valkyrie?"

The Valkyrie. Some of the strongest women in Asgardian history, whose stories I had looked up to as a sort of role model. I nodded.

"The Valkyrie may be dead, but their purpose is not," she continued. "The magic you have was meant to protect the millions of people who cannot protect themselves."

I felt a strange stirring of emotions in my chest: pride, fear, that same sense of determination the radiated from Alpha Legend. "I understand." I hesitated, a nervous excitement buzzing through my head. "And which Realm would be my responsibility?"

Alpha smiled, a knowing glint in her eye.

"Midgard."


	3. Chapter 2 -Going Up

"My ship is at the edge of the city, we can cross to it from the edge of the Bifrost."

I followed Alpha out of the palace with uncertainty, tripping in an effort to keep up over the smooth road I had traveled over hundreds of times.

"Your ship?"

Alpha looked back over her shoulder at me, "Well you can't expect me to stay in the palace! My power struggle with Odin is not the only agenda item I have. And there's no way I'm bringing all my equipment into the palace just to bring it back out. It's much easier this way."

I ran to catch up with Alpha. "Equipment? What equipment?"

Alpha stopped and turned to look at me. "Asariel, we are at war. I certainly hope we have equipment."

~*~ 

Alpha stopped about three quarters of the way down the length of the bifrost where a cross between a plane and a helicarrier hovered in space.

"How are we supposed to get up there?" I asked, looking up at the large, sleek command ship. "I can't jump that high."

Alpha smiled slightly. "Lesson number one: look for other options. The obvious solution is not the only solution. Now let's look at this. You need to get up somewhere that's maybe 30 meters above you."

I nodded, thinking. This had to be some sort of test. Somehow she wanted to test my skills—see if I was dedicated, see if I was paying attention. If I was the kind of person she was looking for.

Alpha took a step back, folding her arms across her tight, half-zipped, sleeveless leather jacket, and her weight switched to her right combat boot. She tossed her head and pursed her lips, matching the arc of her lifted eyebrow as her dark french braid swung behind her back. "How are you going to do that?"

"With my equipment?" I guessed, waiting for Alpha to pull something from the inner pockets of her leather jacket. I could tell she was looking for a specific answer, and I felt my cheeks warm as she tilted her head from side to side, obviously containing a smile at my response.

"What equipment?" she asked, raising an eyebrow before folding her arms. Her actions were deliberate and almost intimidating, despite the good-natured air about her. I twisted my hands together, my face contorted into confusion.

"Didn't you just say. . ."

"My equipment is up there." Alpha pointed to the ship, "And besides, I don't think I have anything to get us that far up."

I swallowed, embarrassed. Alpha wanted me to come up with an actual solution then. I looked down the length of the bifrost confused; then my eyes lit up on Heimdall's post. "I could ask my father if he could help. . ."

Alpha gestured down the bridge with an expression saying 'by all means'.

I raced down the bifrost, turning back over my shoulder to see Alpha speaking to apparently thin air. I colored slightly. Was she that exasperated with me? I turned back and pounded my thin sandals harder into the bridge until I reached end and burst into the circular, dome-roofed building. "Father!?" I called. "Father where are you?" He was nowhere to be found. With an increasing amount of panic, I tore into the lower room below the bifrost where I slept. A sweep of the room told me he wasn't there either. Was he ever not there? Panic churned in my stomach, and I raced back to Alpha, pounding over the colors of the bifrost bridge with so much force my feet turned red. But it didn't matter to me. My father was gone.

"Alpha!" I shouted, coming to a stop less than a foot away. My hands fell to my knees as I puffed air. "Alpha, my father's gone!"

The corner of Alpha's mouth twitched. "What do you think happened?"

I looked up at her, anger bubbling in my stomach at her apparent amusement. "He must have been taken!"

Alpha cracked a small smile. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, he's gone!" I spluttered through the thick saliva stuck to my tongue. "He must be in danger! We have to tell the king."

I was about to run off back to the city when Alpha held out a hand, fully smiling. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What makes you think he's in danger?"

I almost stomped in exasperation. "He's gone! Alpha we have to find him!"

Alpha laughed for a moment. "Was there any sign of a struggle? Anything out of place?"

I shook my head, confused, trying to move around Alpha's hand. "Why does that matter, he's not there!"

Alpha gripped my shoulders. "Asariel, where was the last place you saw him?"

I swallowed, struggling to think straight. After a moment, I let my shoulders sag, mumbling out a reply. "The palace."

"How long ago?"

"Maybe. . . ten minutes?"

"So where is he now?"

My head dipped to look at my red and throbbing feet. "Probably the palace."

Alpha straightened, loosening her grip on my shoulders. "You are very impulsive. And not very observant."

The panic in my stomach turned to embarrassment, and my cheeks turned the color of my feet.

"That makes this easier, at least."

I lifted my head, looking at her in confusion.

Alpha folded her arms, a twinkling in her eye. "Usually my Legends are observant, but refuse to take action." She sighed, murmuring under her breath, "I suppose that's what happens when you're enslaved for several hundred years." Alpha smiled and straightened, "But you're the opposite. It seems to me you need to learn what's important to see and what's important to remember. For now, though," Alpha pointed up, "Let's just focus on getting up there."

Right. I looked around, and then up. And stared. I had no idea.

Alpha took several steps backward. "Let's start with a list. What do you have?"

I shrugged. "Nothing useful."

"I didn't ask you what you had that was useful, I asked you what you had. List it all."

I looked around again. "I have you. Can you get us up there?"

"Yes," Alpha nodded once.

"Well . . . Will you?"

Alpha sighed. "Here's the thing about asking for help. Whoever helps you would most likely want something back. It is incredibly dangerous to owe anyone anything resembling a favor because if you do, you have no idea what some people will make you do in return."

"Oh."

Alpha sighed and walked over smiling. "Well for starters, you have your sandals."

I glanced at them, "But they're not useful."

Alpha raised an eyebrow. "What are we listing?"

"Right, right. What we have, not what we can use. . . Well, I have a dress . . ."

Alpha nodded.

"And I have my necklace . . ." My fingers flew to my throat, lightly touching the small pendant Loki gave me for my birthday. It was rare I didn't wear it, to the point I felt like I was missing something without it on. Still, it was hardly useful in this situation, and I continued to think of a solution to no avail.

"And?"

"And that's it."

"Okay, okay. One more clue." Alpha laughed. "Just because you can't see it doesn't mean you don't have it."

A beat of silence. Two. Three.

"I have no idea."

"Stop. Slow down. Think about it. What do you have?"

My mind was absolutely blank. Embarrassment and anger twisted in my stomach, and I fought the urge to cry out in exasperation. I looked towards Alpha, who sighed, switching her weight to another leg and twirling a spark between her fingers.

I straightened, exhaling lightly. "I have magic," I realized, feeling ridiculously foolish for not grasping that simple concept sooner.

Alpha grinned. "That's it. Good job. Now, how are gonna use that magic?"

I looked around again. "I don't know. I wouldn't even know where to start," I admitted, twisting my hands together once more.

"Well, you could build a staircase."

My face dropped to the ground again. "I've never done anything that big before."

Alpha arched an eyebrow. "Oh? I'm sure you can."

"But how? I—I don't know that spell."

Alpha took my hands in hers. "You don't need to. One thing that Asgard has yet to understand is that magic is not a set of spells or movements. Magic manipulates the matter around you. All around you are particles—particles bound and created by energy. That same energy can also change these particles. When I ask you to build a set of stairs, I'm not asking you to use a spell. I'm only asking you to manipulate the energy that's already there."

As Alpha spoke, I could sense exactly what she was talking about. A connection to energy. That made much more sense than anything else Loki had told me in an attempt to explain his natural gift for magic. Odin always taught Thor strictly by the books: by spells. But my father . . . the only book I could remember him ever owning was one filled with childrens stories he would read to me. I would ask him all the time how he saw everything, and often I would squint my eyes out the bifrost and see more than the sparkles of the stars. It's simple. He always told me. My father traced my eyes and gave me his blessing. And I just saw. I never learned how.

"Are you ready to try?"

I nodded and closed my eyes. The world around me buzzed. I felt the microscopic energy pulses surrounding me. Move. I thought. Make me a bridge. I opened my eyes to find absolutely no change. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Alpha tried to smother a laugh behind her hands.

"Maybe don't use a staircase. Maybe try to lift yourself up," she offered, sounding impossibly positive about my continual failure.

I closed my eyes again. Move. I imagined myself lifting from my feet, the buzzing energy moving around my feet. But my feet stayed firmly on the ground.

~*~

Alpha waited patiently for my endless attempts until the sun was setting and the orange glow ached my eyes.

"I have to go back to the palace now to speak to Odin. And you," Alpha gripped my shoulders. "You look like you could use some sleep. Head back to the bifrost. We can keep trying again tomorrow, okay?"

"Couldn't you just lift me up with you?"

Alpha shook her head. "As much as I wish, when you are assigned, I cannot do everything for you. You're going to have to learn."

~*~

I tried to sleep that night. I tried to calm my senses, stop that uncontrollable buzzing. I could sense it, moving and fizzing through the cosmos, calling to me. My head, my hands, were connected with the far-reaches of the cosmos. And I wanted to use it. I had to get the buzzing out of my head.

It was dark when I stepped out underneath the ship again. I didn't even know if I could open the hatch if I even got up there. But I had to try. Anything to soothe this awful buzzing in my head.

I don't even know what I did, or how long it took. All I know is that it clicked. Suddenly, the energy was not a buzzing, but channeling. It was like tuning in to a radio station from a selection of static. I saw organization, and channels, as energy manipulated the particles that made up everything around me. In my mind's eye, I watched as those particles flowed around my will to create a set of stairs. I opened my eyes and saw a shimmering, gold, staircase. My breath caught in my chest, and a laugh bubbled out of my mouth. Jumping up and down, I approached the staircase with escalating excitement, biting on my lip with a wide grin.

I was hesitant to put my weight on it, but it held steady. Every step I took vibrated against my sandals. I began to walk slowly up the length of the staircase, but found my steps quickening into a light jog before I reached a small metal door with no handle. My heart thudded in my chest, still elated by my small victory as I studied the door with increasing interest. Without thinking twice, I pressed my fingers against it. It slid open with a nearly silent hiss.

I had no idea where they came from, but two people had blades at my throat, and a third had a bow drawn with a glinting arrow pointed at me. I froze, all thoughts of my success racing from my mind as I stared in shock at the people surrounding me, a resounding terror planting itself in my head. They were all dressed in greys and blacks, with leather jackets or cloaks, and fiery ribbons painting symmetrical cursive 'L's around their eyes. The woman to my left pressed a button on her wrist, which turned a bright white.

"Do not move," the man on my right murmured. I didn't dare disobey, despite the aching that had set into my stiffened limbs. I suddenly became aware of the nightgown I was wearing, sloppily accented by my hastily laced sandals. Compared to the sleek and sophisticated outfits of the warriors around me, I felt sorely out of place.

"Ah. I see you finally made it up," Alpha greeted, coming down the hallway, still fully dressed. I felt myself relax slightly, despite the weapons that were still aimed at me. Alpha glanced at the people around me, holding up a hand and nodding almost imperceptibly. "Weapons down, Legends, this is my new shadow, Asariel. And her training," Alpha's eyes twinkled at me, "starts tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 3 - Blessings and Goodbyes

I tried to go back to sleep, but after twenty minutes of tossing and turning, I still felt as restless as before I made it onto the ship. Finally, I sighed in defeat, once again lacing up my sandals to go outside.

I hesitated once I reached the top of the Bifrost, glancing over to see Heimdall standing in front of the swirling cosmos. He wasn't wearing his usual armor; his helmet was leaning against the wall beside me. Instead, he wore the simple civilian clothes I barely recognized, his hair tied behind his head. "You did a good job today," he said softly, his back still turned to me. "Even if it took some time."

I looked down, my cheeks warm and my eyes tearing up. "I didn't know you were awake."

"I am always awake, in some way. I am Asgard's gatekeeper, my child. I cannot risk a breach of our security simply because I am not awake to see," he explained simply, a distant fondness in his voice. "I just came up here to think. Clear my head." I stayed silent, but slowly walked to stand next to Heimdall. He barely moved, but his head tilted slightly as if to acknowledge my presence. "I am curious as to why you were so panicked at my apparent disappearance," he mused.

I smiled slightly, shrugging. "I don't know. I guess… I would hate for anything to happen to you and for me not to know. I couldn't stand the thought of you going missing or… or dying and for me to just be oblivious."

"Impulsive indeed," he smiled warmly, crossing his arms lightly. "Sometimes I wonder if you truly are my own daughter."

The smile slipped off my face slowly, and I felt that same unrest creep back into my head. I gazed out into the mass of stars and color that seeped together into a beautiful galaxy, my jaw set and my chest tight. "What do you see?" I asked softly, eyes never leaving the view in front of me. "Out there?"

"Everything. I can turn my gaze onto any planet. Most of it is white noise, but there are times when those small specks of life become something more. When ordinary people do extraordinary things, becoming legends in their own way."

"Do you ever wish you couldn't? See everything, that is."

Heimdall hesitated before answering. "No. But I do wish I spent less time focused on life out there, and more on you. On Asgard." He breathed out a laugh. "But it is my duty. And I have to uphold it."

"Do I have to go?" I finally asked, struggling to keep my voice from shaking.

Heimdall turned, his face slightly pained as he smiled. "Yes. I wish that you didn't. I would give anything to keep you here with me, but this was bound to happen. I just…" He faltered, taking a breath before continuing, "I just didn't think it'd be so soon."

"I'm scared," I whispered, trying to ignore the tears forming in my eyes. "I don't want to leave you. I don't know what's going to happen."

"I know," he soothed, holding open his arms as I began to cry. "I know. Come here."

I buried my face in his chest, finally allowing myself to feel completely overwhelmed by my mission. I knew that I shouldn't be afraid, and I knew it had to be for the best. But, at the same time, I had never known life outside of Asgard. I had fooled myself into thinking I would live here forever, finding glory in battle and comfort in this planet. Instead, I was going to be sent off to protect a planet I had no connection with, to fight their battles from the sidelines. And it terrified me.

"I don't want to be part of the white noise," I choked out, tears spilling onto my cheeks. "I don't want you to forget about me." Heimdall shifted slightly, his chin resting on the top of my head.

"Asariel, I could never forget you. You are my daughter. You have changed my life far more than you realize," he said firmly, briefly kissing the top of my head. "I will always be here for you. Always. And as long as I'm here, you will never be alone."

I nodded, still crying softly. "Will you tell me a story?" My meager question was accompanied by a watery laugh, and I smeared the tears away with slight embarrassment.

Heimdall smiled, nodding before lowering himself to the ground. "Come," he beckoned me down with him, and I folded my legs while he pointed out into space, still trying to wipe away the tears. "There is a planet—so distant you can barely see it with your naked eye. And it's far more difficult to discern from the rest. But that planet holds promise. The people there are beyond anything most have to offer. They are small, seemingly insignificant, and yet, they are convinced to rise above themselves. And soon, they will have someone capable of helping them achieve that. Someone who is anything but insignificant."

I leaned my head against his shoulder, letting my eyes drift shut.

When I opened my eyes again, the sun had risen long ago. I sat up, slightly disoriented as I stared at the walls of my own bedroom. I strained my memory, desperately trying to remember _something _important before shooting out of bed, a strangled cry of annoyance escaping me as I nearly fell in the process.

_Training. How could I forget about training?_ I mentally scolded myself, clumsily pulling on a simple shirt and pants, which I viewed as far more practical than the dress I had worn the day before. I glanced into the small mirror above my vanity, scrunching up my nose before raking my fingers through my hair. I attempted braiding the top before giving up and pulling it into a ponytail.

I was sprinting out of the Bifrost soon after, and my heart was pounding by the time I reached Alpha's ship. I puffed out a few breaths, holding back a groan as I stared up at the door above me. As soon as I stopped, however, I heard someone clear their throat behind me, and I whirled around in surprise.

"Late morning?" Alpha asked, her posture relaxed and a smile tugging as the corner of her mouth. I sighed out in relief, rushing to try and defend myself before she held up a hand. "It's okay, it's okay. I know you had a late night. You worked hard. And unfortunately, you aren't going to get much of a break today."

I cocked my head to the side, resisting the urge to bounce on my toes. "What are we doing?"

She shifted her weight, a tension settling onto her shoulders as she folded her arms. "We're leaving. Today."

A stretch of silence settled between us, and I felt my heart drop. "What?" I asked, anxiety building in my stomach as my mind raced. "We can't leave today! I… I can't just…" I broke off, taking a small step backwards.

Alpha approached me quickly, taking my hands in hers. "Listen. It's going to be okay. I'll give you time to say your goodbyes. You will still have ways to keep in contact with Asgard." I glanced up at her, nodding slowly as she squeezed my hands and let go. "Take all the time you need, alright?"

I wandered towards the palace in a daze, trying to wrap my head around the idea that I was leaving. Every step I took felt forced, and I eagerly drank in every sight around me with growing nostalgia. By the time I reached the palace doors, I felt almost nauseous—sadness and nervousness twisting inside my stomach.

The guards at the door stood aside immediately, and I nodded once with a strained smile. Once I was inside the castle, I found myself almost jogging towards Odin's throne, a frantic need to see both Thor and Loki rising in me with every step. As I turned the corner, however, I felt relief wash over me as I nearly collided with Thor.

"Asariel!" He exclaimed, a wide smile breaking across his face. "I was just wondering where you were. Loki had something he wanted to tell you, I think."

"I'm leaving."

The words tumbled out of my mouth before I could stop them, and I watched as the smile slipped off of Thor's face, replaced by a puzzled confusion. "You're leaving? Why?"

I tried explaining, but before I could even start, I broke down into sobs. Thor immediately pulled me into a tight embrace, ignoring my hiccups as he patted my back, somewhat awkwardly. "I have to go today. I'm never… I'm not going to come back. Not for a long time." My voice shook badly, and I tried to clear my throat. "I have to say goodbye."

I felt Thor stiffen, and I pulled away to study his face. "You're leaving _today_?" He bristled slightly, a defensive anger seeping into his voice.

I nodded, my throat still tight.

Thor took a breath, obviously about to launch into some rant, before he stopped, his shoulders sagging. "Where are you going?"

"Midgard." I smiled a little, nudging his arm weakly. "You always said you wanted to go there."

"Maybe I have an excuse now," Thor smiled in return, hesitating before hugging me again. "You'll be okay, right?"

"I think so," I mumbled, taking a shaky breath. "I need to find Loki. Tell him. Heimdall probably knows already, but I still want to say goodbye." I paused before continuing. "You know where Loki is, don't you?"

"I do. He said he was heading over to the cliffs. I'm sure you can find him there."

"Can you try to find my father as well?"

"Of course." His voice was stiff, but he flashed a smile when I glanced at his face. "Don't leave without seeing me again. Or giving a proper explanation."

"I wouldn't dream of it," I smiled in return, still forcing down the bitter nervousness that wrenched my stomach. Thor nodded before walking backwards a few steps, skipping slightly before turning completely and walking off. I turned back the way I had come, keeping my eyes down in hopes that the guards wouldn't notice my reddened face.

By the time I reached Loki, I had felt myself relax significantly. I gave a small wave when he noticed me, quickening my pace slightly until I stood next to him. I bowed dramatically, flinging my arms out to either side. "Your majesty," I grinned, peeking upwards to see Loki's exaggerated eye roll.

"Please tell me you're joking," he grumbled, a small smile brightening his own face.

"We may never know." I straightened, feeling myself falter slightly. "Thor said you wanted to tell me something?"

"Yes!" He swivelled around, quickly spinning me in the process to face the Bifrost. "Do you see that ship there?" He pointed to Alpha's ship, grinning widely.

"Yes?"

"_That's _the ship of the _Alpha Legend_. I saw my father talking with her only yesterday. I've been keeping an eye on it since." Loki's voice had risen in pitch slightly, clearly excited at his discovery. "Someone went up there last night. They built a whole staircase out of _thin air_. It was amazing, I could hardly believe it."

"I have two responses," I said slowly. "First, why are your hands always so cold? It's almost summer!" Loki glanced at his hand, which was lightly touching my arm, before drawing back with a laugh.

"Sorry. Go on."

"Second… Well, I think that person was me."

Loki's eyebrows shot upwards. "That was you? Really?"

I nodded, fighting back the smile that curled the edges of my mouth up. "It took a long time, let me tell you."

"What were you doing going up to that ship?" Loki asked, excitement once again rising in his voice. "How did you even do it?"

"I'm not sure how I did it. It just… clicked I guess. But I actually do need to talk to you about that." I took a breath, searching for something to say to ease the tension in my stomach. "I'm going to leave with her. The Alpha."

Loki cocked his head to the side, his smile fading slightly. "You're leaving?" I nodded, making a point to stare at my hands. "For how long?"

"I don't know. But a long time." My voice had softened drastically, almost to a whisper. "I've been given a task. A responsibility."

I wasn't looking at Loki's face, but I could basically feel the anger building off of him. "What responsibility?"

"I'm going to Midgard. To protect them from any threats."

"That's not your responsibility! That's… that's Asgard's!" Suddenly, he stopped, stiffening next to me. "Odin told you to do this, didn't he?"

"It… This was going to happen since Heimdall found me. I can't just ignore that," I tried to avoid his question, but he shook his head, his movements sharp and harsh.

"He did. That's why he was talking to Alpha." I looked up at him, slightly startled at the anger that he had spit out with his words.

"Loki, Odin is the king. And I can't disobey, even if I wanted to." His eyes shot over to meet mine, glistening with tears of his own. "Not to mention that Alpha asked me. I couldn't just say no."

"You want to go?"

"It's not that. I just . . . I need to. I know that, and I need you to understand. Please." I reached out and grabbed Loki's hand, but he retracted it slowly.

"When are you leaving?" He asked, hardly as a question, but rather a flat statement.

I swallowed, trying to take a breath. "Today."

He closed his eyes, once again shaking his head. "Of course. Of course it's today."

"Loki—"

"Asariel, don't go. Please."

"I don't have a choice!" I burst out, my voice pinched as I held back tears. "I need to do this! I need you to understand that. I need you to… to…" I broke off, looking upwards with my arms crossed tightly. "I need you to be okay with that."

"You belong _here_!" Loki argued, jabbing his hand out to the palace behind him. "You aren't human! He can't expect you to just leave and never look back to your home!"

"I'm not going to! How could I ever leave and just forget?" I took another step towards him, despite his stubborn scowl as he refused to make eye contact. I laid a hand on his arm, leaning over so I was facing directly in front of him. "You're my family, Loki. The closest thing to a brother I have ever known. I am never going to forget that."

There were a few seconds of tense silence before he deflated, his eyes dropping to the ground. "I don't know how I'm going to survive without you around. You're my family too."

I gave a lopsided smile, blinking to clear away the tears that had formed in my eyes. Loki smiled in return, his eyes still distant as he wrapped an arm around me. I shifted to hug him properly, closing my eyes. "I'll miss you. A lot."

"Me too."

After another moment, we broke apart, and I furiously wiped at a few stray tears. "Walk with me?"

Loki raised an eyebrow, though he still seemed uneasy and upset. "Where to?"

I pointed at the ship once more, holding back a laugh as Loki's eyes widened, a smile slowly creeping into his face.

As we approached a small group of people by the Bifrost, I could feel my heart thumping in my chest. Before I could say anything, Heimdall quickly drew me in for a hug, despite my half-hearted protests as his armor cut into my stomach slightly. When he pulled away, he set his hands on my shoulders and nodded softly, as a question. I nodded back, smiling, and he kissed my forehead before turning back to the rest of the group.

Alpha stepped forward, briefly smiling at the Asgardian princes as they both gaped at her. "Are you ready?" She asked. I nodded, squaring my shoulders. Alpha smiled. "Well, first things first. I thought your father would want to be here to see your blessing."

"Absolutely not." Odin spoke from the back of the group. Alpha closed her eyes slowly, the muscles in her left leg tensing. She took a deep breath before turning to the king.

"And why not?"

Odin raised his chin, "It is not appropriate for her to be blessed by you, Legend. She is not of Asgard."

Alpha's eyes narrowed, a hint of a fiery ribbon wrapping cursive 'L's around her eyes. "Who I bless is not for you to decide. You have said it yourself. You do not accept her, and you barely accept me. I will not constrain myself to your wishes. It was my ancestors who put you into power."

Odin's voice rose to a minor shout. "You are only half Eternal."

Alpha's eyes filled with the same fire that solidified around them. She spoke with a deadly calm that I could barely hear. "Exactly. That is why you should be afraid."

Odin kept his head high, but swallowed, making no response.

"Blessing?" I asked timidly, looking up at Alpha, "I don't know what that is."

"I'm going to attach you to the Eternal's blessing that resides over Asgard."

Loki let out a small gasp to my right, casting his eyes down with a faint blush of embarrassment as Alpha turned to look at him. "I'll take it you know what that is?" she asked, amusement playing on her voice.

"I know it is the source of Asgard's magic and everyone living in it."

Alpha nodded, holding a fist out in front of her. "If this is Asgard, and the blessing that rests in it, if I attached you to it," a ribbon of light shot out from Alpha's fist pointing towards Loki, "and Heimdall," another ribbon attached Alpha's fist to my father, "and to Thor," another ribbon joined the other two, "and Asariel," a fourth joined, "you all would be connected to the same power source of Asgard."

Thor looked up at Alpha excitedly, from where he was studying the ribbon of light pointed at him. "Does that mean I would be able to turn to a snake as Loki does?"

Alpha shot an impressed look at Loki before responding, "A blessing only magnifies the power you already have, I'm afraid." Thor's face dropped in disappointment, but he soon found the ribbon of light again and continued to stare at it. Alpha dropped her fist and all but the ribbon pointing at Thor disappeared.

"But I am already powerful," I pointed out. Odin scoffed none too quietly.

Alpha pursed her lips for a pulse before she responded, "Yes, you are. But I'd rather you be as prepared as possible. Better safe than sorry."

Heimdall nodded, adjusting his grip on the large broadsword he was carrying. "I would much rather you be as strong as possible before going to battle."

Alpha met his steady gaze from the other side of the circle, "She will be more than ready. I swear to you that I will not allow her to go into battle without me by her side."

My father nodded, throwing a glance at me. "Swear to me you will listen to Alpha Legend?"

I nodded resolutely, staring up into my father's eyes. "I swear it."

Alpha brought a hand up to her right ear, dipping her head to listen intently. "Yes, alright. Go ahead and prep, I'll be up soon." She turned to look at me. "We'd better get a move on then." Awaiting my nod of acceptance, she waved me to the middle of the circle and bent over slightly to stare into my eyes, her own alight with fiery, cursive 'L' frames. "Close your eyes," she whispered and I obeyed. She traced down the rim of my eyelid, looping around in the small indents of my outer eyes, swooping under my eyes, and finishing with a flourish just below my temple to imprint capital letter cursive 'L's reflected over my nose, to match Alpha's.

I opened my eyes as Alpha straightened, smiling. "That's it?" I asked bewildered, "I don't have to say anything?"

A smile pulled at the corners of Alpha's mouth. "That's it. Words are too easily twisted into insincerity. I don't really like bothering with them."

"If that is all, my sons and I will return to the palace." Odin walked away without another word, and Thor ran to give me a brief hug and whispered, 'come visit soon,' before following. Loki too embraced me, but more firmly and for much longer than Thor had. He murmured a 'I will see you soon,' before turning to follow as well, but Alpha stopped him, bending over to look into his eyes as well.

I felt a warm hand on my shoulder and wheeled around to face my father. He was smiling at me with water in his ethereal eyes. "I must continue to watch now." I threw my arms around him, and he chuckled, returning the embrace. "I am so glad I got to raise you," he whispered to me.

"I could not have asked for a better father," I responded, barely able to contain my own tears.

Heimdall pulled away and looked into my eyes. "I cannot wait to watch what you are going to do."

We broke away, and Heimdall started the short trek back to the Bifrost.

"Asariel." I wheeled around to Alpha. "I have some instructions for you and Loki."

It was at that moment I realized there were fiery 'L's on Loki's face as well.

"I thought Odin would not let you bless them," I reminded her, shocked as I stared at Loki.

Alpha shrugged an eyebrow, lifting it for a moment before finding composure. "Odin does not like the idea that he is not in control. He is rash, and rarely does anything that does not benefit his glory and power. I want the two of you to report directly to me."

Loki and I looked at each other. "Report to you?" Loki asked.

"Yes. I will teach the both of you to communicate directly with me, Asariel, about Midgard, and Loki, about the goings on of Asgard."

Loki began to protest immediately. "But that would be treason!" he exclaimed, standing completely still in contemplation.

Alpha smirked ever so slightly. "Something tells me you would be doing that anyway. I think you get away with a lot more than anyone realizes."

Loki nodded, though confusion shone faintly off of his face.

"Now you have to realize as well that Odin would not approve of your blessings nor your reports to me. You have to slowly use more and more power. You will feel when your face lights up, but do not let anyone see. It is tied partially to your emotions, so hide it as much as possible. Control yourself. Do you understand, Loki?"

Loki nodded again, looking up somberly and abandoning his confusion.

"Now sit down, the both of you," Alpha commanded. "I'm going to teach you both to talk to me telepathically." She waited until we had both obeyed, following suit herself. "Remember that everything is made of energy: miniscule, precise, and powerful vibrations. To send a message to me or to each other, you simply have to send a vibration through the particles around you. Try it."

I closed my eyes and re-acquainted myself with the fuzzy static that surrounded me. I gradually felt the same channeling, like thousands of roads moving at incredible speeds. I dropped a message into one of the channels, but it dissipated before reaching Alpha. I bit the inside of my cheek and took a breath. This time I threw the message along with the road. Again, it dissipated. The third time I rolled the message along with the road, close enough to be sucked in like a magnet, and felt a jolt of surprise as my eyes suddenly burned gold behind my eyelids.

_Well done. Now we just wait for Loki. Don't open your eyes though, we don't want to pressure him. _

Alpha's voice sounded almost completely crystal clear in my head, as if she was whispering in my ear. I did as she asked and waited, although I thought it completely unfair when Loki succeeded only seconds after I did. It took me hours to even begin learning how to do this, and he was doing it in a matter of minutes.

"Are we all clear about what to do?" Loki nodded, and I spoke, "Yes."

Alpha stood up, brushing off her cargo pants. "Then it is about time to head out, Asariel. Loki, thank you for your willingness to help me."

Loki nodded, "Of course, Alpha. It is my pleasure to be of service."

Alpha smiled at Loki, before gesturing to the ship. "Shall we, Asariel?"

I created another set of stairs, pointedly glancing at Loki as he walked slowly backwards, and my feet left the Bifrost for the last time in a long while.


	5. Chapter 4 - Stones and Armor

"She is too young. She is not ready." A woman walked up to Alpha, standing tall. They each watched through a one-way mirror as figures sparred in the vast training room on the other side. The woman was wearing leggings under a skirt made of layered leather strips of varying sizes, all of which were tucked into a tight, black, leather corset overtop of a lace shirt that clasped in banded platinum over her throat, and trailed lace in long sleeves down her arms. In her hand, she carried a double bladed staff, the same metal color of her hair that contrasted with her dark brown eyes.

Alpha pulled her weight off her elbows, rubbing where the handrail had bit into them. The straps across her chest holding the open leather jacket together and the twin swords on her back strained as the short-sleeved grey shirt underneath filled with a deep breath. She shifted her weight equally to both of her combat boots, and folded her leather and metal gauntlet-covered arms across her chest. "She is more ready than she seems, Titiana."

A bright flash of light went off in the corner of the training room. The smaller figure turned to look at it, distracted and caught unawares as another flash came directly towards her, which she was barely able to block.

"That was sloppy."

"She only started a couple days ago."

"And she goes into battle tomorrow." Titiana's voice, like her expression, remained completely neutral. "She is not ready. She will be killed."

Alpha met Titiana's gaze. "She will go into battle with _me_." She put light stress on the last word before continuing. "She will be fine. She is doing excellently, and will be more than prepared to take the bunker tomorrow."

Titiana turned back to the sparring girl through the glass. "I will drill her myself this evening."

Alpha cracked a small smile, eyes also finding Asa through the glass. "I'll give her the warning. But I don't think she'll do badly at all." The smaller figure through the glass sat down heavily and began chugging water from a water bottle on the edge of the mat, while the other held up both hands to the glass, one showing four fingers, the other with three. "See?"

"Tonight you'll do drills with Beta Titiana, but for now . . ." Alpha stopped in front of a set of double doors embedded in the long halls of the Legend's ship. "We should get you some proper equipment. Now listen, there will be a lot of people in the labs, so be careful what you touch, and stay with me."

I nodded, and Alpha waved her hand in front of the doors, which melted in a hexagon pattern into the walls, revealing a giant room several stories tall. Inside were shelves and closets of materials in cubes of varying sizes, giant three dimensional printers with spools of metals and plastics ready to be melted and molded, fabricators with multi-colored lasers putting together chips and wires. Aircraft engines and repairs covered people in oil stains, giant holograms gave detailed analyses from wrist devices and remote projectors, and giant pads surrounded by cameras off to the right wall served for test trials. The clear staircases led up to the second floor where rows of people worked with smaller devices and equipment, as well as fabricating weapons and custom-made armor in still more fabricators, printers, and sanders. But the most impressive things in the room were the metal spheres that hovered through space roamed around, bringing materials or conveying messages from one person to another.

Alpha walked straight over to the staircase and I followed her up it, finding it hard continue following rather than stop and look around. One thing I did notice was that everyone had some sort of earpiece in, connected to a microphone that followed their jawbone down to their mouth.

"Asariel!" I looked up to Alpha already at the top of the stairs, as I had apparently slowed to a stop. "Come on! You're blocking traffic." I turned, and sure enough there was a crowd of people trying to come up the stairs behind me. I jogged to the top. We were nearly to a small door almost directly diagonal from the top of the stairs when someone shouted: "Alpha!"

Alpha turned and knelt to meet the gaze of the small girl running up to her. "What are you doing here, _Cara_?"

The girl frowned. "My name's not Cara, it's Tzofti!"

Alpha smiled, "Well, that's a lovely name! Is there something I can do for you, Tzofti?"

"My daddy said I have to go to bed at nine o'clock. She says it will help me grow up big and strong, like you! Did you have to go to bed at nine too?"

"Tzofti! Where are you?" A man's voice rang out from the din, and Alpha waved her hand in a small arc by her side, and a metal ball hovered orange above their heads.

"Well, I definitely had to sleep a lot, and I think it's a good idea to go to bed at nine." Alpha replied.

"Tzofti, there you are!" a man with red hair to match Tzofti's pushed himself through the crowd to pick up his five year-old daughter. "I am so sorry Alpha."

Alpha rose and brushed off his apology. "It's fine! Don't worry about it, _Amatus_."

"That's not my dad's name either." Tzofti spoke. "His name is Ira-Irm . . ."

"It's a nickname," the man said. "Just like I call you Tzo."

Comprehension dawned on the little girl's face. "Ooh! Just like you called me _Cara_!"

Alpha nodded, laughing. "Exactly. You're a smart one aren't you?" She bopped Tzofti's nose. "I'll bet, if you go to bed every night at nine o'clock, and eat super healthy foods, you'll get to be just as strong as I am one day."

Tzofti bounced in her father's arms, as he mouthed a quiet 'thank you' to Alpha before walking away. I could still hear her excited exclamations all the way down the stairs: "Did you hear that? I can be just as strong as Alpha!"

"Come on in here Asariel." I followed Alpha into a side room of the labs, where she pressed a button so it glowed blue. Alpha sat in the chair at the end of the room and began murmuring into her earpiece. I took a moment to look around.

In the center of the room, a hologram table rested. Monitors covered the right wall, the back left corner was home to an elevated platform, and measurements were marked on the walls.

"The other one goes to Loki on Asgard."

I resisted the urge to turn and sit next to Alpha in an effort to hear better, knowing I was not part of this conversation. Instead I took to studying my reflection in the monitors as Alpha kept speaking. "No, I fully expect Odin to find it. But if he knows what it is, then he'll know better than to parade around the fact that he has it. He knows that'll only get him killed... If you bring it up, I'll bet Ria can make a case for it, that way Odin doesn't have full control over it… I don't think he'll notice, no… Yes, the other one comes with me. It's going to Agamotto… He swore to protect Earth from the Spacers, and he is honorable. I trust him. Him and anyone else he trains. Alright, thanks, Aenor."

Alpha touched the device in her ear, and fixed her gaze on me. "You are not very good at being discrete."

I turned to her, attempting to look surprised as she lounged in the chair by the door. "What do you mean?"

Alpha raised an eyebrow. "No one can stare at themselves for a full five minutes at the same angle in a monitor."

I looked at the ground. "I may have been listening."

Alpha stood. "I know you were, and if you did not come from Asgard, and were not going to Earth, I wouldn't be bothering to explain this to you." Alpha clicked on the hologram table and pressed a button on her gauntlet. The table showed a single glowing sphere. "Before the dawn of time, there was a single Alpha."

"You mean there are more of you?"

Alpha gave me a look, and I fell silent.

"Everyone is made up of two pieces. Their body, and their synergy. Your body is pretty self-explanatory, but a synergy is like your soul. The eternal matter that makes up your power. Synergies are complex, despite being used for millions of thousands of years, and we still have no idea how they really work. However, we do know that when someone dies, their synergy…" Alpha paused and pointed at the holographic ball. "Their synergy separates from their body. Usually, this matter is released to live in the stars forever. Much more rarely, a synergy can be forced to a form, to be used as a weapon. That's what happened to the first Alpha, Lady Infinity." The hologram sphere split into six different pieces, colored blue, purple, yellow, orange, green, and red. "Her five children each took a piece of her synergy to use as a weapon, and her husband took what remained and hid it under a price too awful to pay. The children, and their families, named the Shadows, Demonics, Defenders, Poisoned, and the… the Eternals. They use these stones, and their own power to wage war over countless worlds and realms in the universe. Over time, these clans mutated, massacred each other, and lost many members, but they still wage war today. And soon, once we leave, it will be your duty to watch over Earth in the case of it being attacked."

It was a daunting prospect to wrap my head around. Each one of these clans had an Alpha. How would I compare if one of them decided to attack Earth? I, ultimately, would fail, and Earth would fall. Alpha touched my shoulder, wheeling me to face her. "It is not your duty to fight against another clan. Your job is to tell me or Asgard when there is a threat so they can sort it out. Alright?"

I nodded, looking back up at the holographic crystals. "So one of these is going to Loki?"

Alpha nodded. "The Legends have two of them. And it's not safe for me to take them with me to win back my mother's lands. One of them is going to Loki, on Asgard. I would prefer that I could give you one, of course, but it is dangerous to have two stones on the same world. The other stone we have is going to Agamotto, on Earth. The two of you won't meet, and I'll be surprised if your duties come in contact as all, but it is still dangerous."

I nodded, thinking over everything she had told me. Even if I had no dominion over these stones, I still had a sense of protectiveness over the ones I was close to. But one thing kept eating at me. "What about the Legends. You haven't mentioned them yet."

Alpha sighed deeply, and she looked older to me than she had ever looked before. I knew she was old, but I could see weariness in her somehow duller eyes, and her face seemed to sag downward. "The story of the Legends is not pleasant. It is not something you can unhear, by any means."

It was my turn to place a hesitant hand on her shoulder, "I do not want to pressure you."

Alpha shook her head. "It's fine, just stop me if you don't want to hear any more." She shook her shoulders, sliding my hand off, and lifted her head. "My mother was Alpha Eternal. She, and a group of Eternals fell in love with a group of Poisoned. Their kids, the Legends, lived in the ranks of the Eternals until I was about eight hundred years old. Then the Alpha Poisoned found out we existed. They are . . . very honor driven, and massacred every single Eternal, and took us Legends into slavery. I won't describe what they did to us, but I endured that for fifteen hundred years while other clans took over my mother's hard-earned lands, until I managed to escape. I wasn't able to come back and break them out for another five hundred years. And now, we're finally ready to take back the lands that my mother promised us as she lay dying."

I sat there, stunned. There was more to the story, but I was glad she had spared me the details. Even thinking about it made me feel an odd combination of sick and numb. I had very little time for a reaction, however, before the door to the room opened. Alpha tapped her gauntlet again to shut off the hologram.

"Bion, how wonderful to see you." Alpha got up and hugged the man, as he replied, "Alpha, how's the crusade going?"

Alpha let out a long breath. "It's going alright. I have to head out soon though, and Asariel here," Alpha gestured to me, "needs equipment."

Bion offered me his hand, which I shook, and said, "Lovely to meet you, Miss Asariel."

"You as well, Mr. Bion."

"Asariel is from Asgard, and she will be the scout on Earth for us."

"Oh wonderful, let's get you all set up then." Bion rounded the table and turned it back on. Alpha joined him and I wiped my hands on my Asgardian dress before doing the same. This handshake thing was still an odd concept to me. "First thing's first, you're going to need some lenses." Bion said, putting in an order for a pair on the monitor.

"Lenses?" I asked. "What are lenses?"

Alpha turned to me, "they're a type of thin film you can put on your eye that will allow you to stay in touch with the team you are with, and give schematics of an area with team member positions, all through AVIS."

I knew what AVIS was. Alpha told me she was a robot in the ceiling that kept the database of the Legends, working with reports of missions, relaying messages from team to team, offering advice, giving reminders, and controlling the metal robots that moved around the ship.

"Here." Alpha reached up and pulled a thin, almost invisible lense-shaped film off her eye. "This keeps track of almost everything for me. I wouldn't remember to sleep it it didn't remind me," she laughed. "It writes all my reports for me, and can even keep track of blood sugar levels for medical reports. These things are the best things to ever come out of this lab."

"But you'll need more than those if you're going out to the field, Bion interjected. "You'll need armor too. And weapons. Have any idea what you'd like?"

I froze. "I thought I'd only be using magic . . ."

Alpha smiled, her gaze warm and endearing. "You'll need more than magic. Magic is useful, yes, but it is completely dependent on your energy levels. And I won't have you dying because you're too tired to use your magic."

"Do you have any idea what you want? Knives, swords, bow, crossbow, staff, double-blade, anything?"

"Um…which is the easiest to learn?" I asked uneasily.

Bion gestured to Alpha. "If I were you, I'd go for knives and daggers. They're the most versatile, attract very little attention, easy to hide, and it won't look weird training with them on Earth."

Bion looked at me and I nodded. "How many?" he asked, putting the order in on the hologram.

"Just one." I replied at the same time as Alpha, who said, "All of them."

Bion looked at the two of us. "All of them," Alpha restated.

"Okay then." Bion nodded. "And armor? Any preference?"

I shook my head. In truth, I had no idea what I wanted my armor to look like. As long as it worked, but there were some interesting armor configurations around the ship, and I had yet to see Alpha's full armor. There were high stakes to measure up to, and I wanted mine to mark me as one of them.

"We have a master list of options if you want to look through." I nodded.

Alpha's earpiece started buzzing as Bion pulled up the master list. "I'm so sorry Asariel. I have to take this." she told me, and sat back down in the chair by the door to take her call.

Bion started messing with the screen on his forearm as I scrolled down page fourteen. I had been searching for long enough that my eyes were having trouble focusing. I could feel a twinge of a headache behind my forehead, but none of these felt right. Alpha was being patient, but I could tell she had pressing issues on her mind, and more things to be doing.

It wasn't for a couple more pages until I found it. The metal of the armor curled up high around the neck, black and maroon fabrics flowing downwards in thick braids. The right arm was mostly bare, a silver cuff wringing around the arm just above the elbow and an elegant piece of metal covered the forearm, once again interlaced with the maroon fabric. The left arm, however, seemed to be intended for defense, the plating covering the shoulder downwards. Pieces of metal crossed over each other on the bicep, glinting silver until it was replaced by the fabric once more. The breastplate laid like an upside down heart, fitting snugly around the chest, while the fabrics twisted and laced together over the torso, bits of metal peeking out. The same metal intersected across the back, weaving together in an intricate pattern. Four metal disks sat on the armor, one on each shoulder and in front of each hip. The main piece of armor triangulated beneath the hips, a thinner sheet of metal lengthening to cover the tops of the thighs. The fabric that had been twisted into the armor also draped over the thighs, barely braided together. The pant material almost looked like leather, though it stretched comfortably enough. The boots were tall, going up to the knees, with wedges that seemed to boast of elegance. Thick straps crossed over the feet, twisting up the calves toward the top of the boots. And it was mine.

"That one."

"Oh thank goodness," Bion exclaimed, pushing me to the back corner of the room. "Stand on that," he told me, gesturing to the platform. I jumped up, facing the room, as metal spheres moved around me in circles, and I attempted to watch their movements. "Don't watch. Just hold still," Alpha chided, and I did so, even if it was difficult when a sphere extended a metal arm to hold up my hair as the rest of the spheres kept circling.

"Done. You can hop down now." Bion announced. "Everything will be delivered as soon as it's done."

"Good," Alpha announced. "Come on Asariel. I'm going to drop you off with Beta Titiana, but I have to leave. I shall see you early tomorrow morning, when we head off to Earth."

I stood in the middle of a vast training room, facing the blank face of Beta Titiana as she surveyed me. She snapped down her double-bladed staff, and it took effort not to jump in surprise. "This morning you were given a four in the ability score, but only a three in attention. You can see outside events, but can only focus on one thing at a time. With dozens of people around you on a battlefield, or taking an enemy bunker like you will tomorrow, you will not be able to mistake any sounds as threats, or lose any attention. There are several dozen metal spheres from the lab floating around in this room. Some only flash, some will send laser shots, which you will have to deflect with a shield, or a blade. Some will do both, but all of them move. Let's see how long you can last. We are not leaving here until you can go for a half-hour straight."

I nodded, and pulled out a dagger from my newly delivered armor, blinking to reset the lense in my eye, a feeling I was still not used to. The flashes came in all colors, from all directions, milliseconds after each other. I turned to look at one flash, and immediately was hit in the back with another. It was going to be a long night.

I was sitting in my plain room on the ship in a daze; my back, arms, and left leg were all stinging from repeated laser shots. They might not be lethal, but they still hurt. A knock came to my door, and I looked up, expecting to see Alpha back from whatever she had been doing tonight. Instead, a different woman walked in. She had dark caramel hair thrown up into a messy bun, escaped pieces tucked behind her ear, matched with pale lips and almond-shaped hazel eyes. She wore a light brown leather coat that wrapped itself tightly over her chest and biceps before opening and giving her the back half of a skirt down to her knees, with matching leather pants and fur-lined boots.

"I'm Althea, the head healer." She introduced herself, shaking my hand. "I was sent by Beta Titiana to help you get to sleep."

I almost sighed in relief. "I was not allowed to leave until I made it a half hour with the metal spheres."

She knelt to examine my leg from where I was sitting on my bed that occupied the back stretch of wall. "Oof, you got hit pretty hard, didn't ya? Does it sting, or is it just sore?"

"That one stings," I groaned, the soreness in my back pulling resistance from my efforts to point out the welt just above my knee. Althea smeared a white paste onto my skin and rubbed it in.

"Here" I offered, "I can do my arms." She handed me the tube of paste and I began smearing it on my right arm.

I allowed a beat of silence to pass before asking, "Do you know where Alpha is? She was supposed to be back tonight to take me to Earth in the morning."

Althea sighed. "Yes she told me. Apparently the plan's changed."

"Changed?"

"Yeah. Here, turn around, let me get your back."

I did so, and she lifted my shirt to smear on yet more paste. "The run this evening did not go as planned. Irene and Vladís are both injured, and apparently they just barely made it out. She's staying the night as the guard. I'm taking you in the morning, and I'm staying as battlefield medic." She stood, and straightened. "I think that's you all sorted out. Have you put your lenses away?"

I nodded, gesturing to the small box filled with liquid on the bedside. I felt my throat constrict at the thought of going to Earth, especially if I couldn't meet with Alpha beforehand. Still, I tried to calm my frayed nerves, my hands clasped tightly on my lap.

"Well, then," she handed me a couple small pills, "if you take those they should help you sleep tonight. AVIS will wake you up in the morning."

"Take?" I asked softly, slightly embarrassed as Althena hurried to explain.

"Oh, um, just swallow them. Without chewing." Althena gestured with her hand the pill traveling down her throat.

"Okay." I nodded.

"Well, then, I will see you tomorrow morning." And with that, she left the room, leaving me alone with nothing but my own thoughts and a promise of my new future.


	6. Chapter 5 - Poisoned Battles

I was awake long before AVIS woke me. I dressed quickly—showering in the shared washroom for the hallway, putting on a fresh change of tight exercise clothing, and topping it with my armor. I had already inspected the set of knives Bior had delivered while I was asleep, happy to be rid of the task, and had gone down to the training rooms to review everything I had learned with Titiana until I was too nauseous to continue.

Sitting there, on the bed in the blank room with nothing but a chest of drawers and a door to the washroom, I couldn't help but be grateful for Beta Titiana's drill. As much as I appreciated Luitguard's training, it was that solid session with Titiana that gave me a small amount of confidence in my skills.

Less than a month ago, I had no idea who the Legends even were, and now, I was sitting in their ship, preparing to go to battle with them. Or, rather, trying not to be sick at the thought. But I could consistently last fifteen minutes on offense, and a full half-hour on defense. And Alpha would be with me. This somewhat relaxed the worries in my mind, but unfortunately did nothing to soothe my churning stomach.

The clock, resting on the chest of drawers by my bed, blared the red 5:45 at me from across the room. In a five minutes, Althena would come for me.

In 45 minutes I could have been waking up back home, and tearing down the Bifrost to the palace. Why had I spent so much of my old life messing around? I should have been training, making myself somehow more prepared for this nightmare. The thought sat heavy, but in a moment I dismissed it; I wouldn't have given up my time with Thor and Loki for anything.

Loki? It was a stupid chance. He wouldn't be listening now. He probably had much more important things on his mind, starting with the Infinity Stone that Alpha had sent him for Asgard's use.

"Three minutes, Miss Asariel." AVIS told me from a speaker in the ceiling. Sure enough, the clock read 5:47.

I had to try, even if he wasn't listening. Loki, I just have to say thank you. You and Thor have been such wonderful friends to me.

Asariel? I was startled to hear a small echo in my head. Is there something wrong?

I swallowed. I am going into battle today.

I could almost feel the alarm in Loki's voice. Already? You have barely been gone four days, it cannot be safe for you to go.

5:49.

Loki...I'm scared.

A pause. I could feel Loki take a breath. You are going in with Alpha, correct?

Loki, some of the Legends were injured last night. If they can be hurt, then...

Was Alpha with them?

No.

Will she be with you?

I pushed back the tears from my eyes. Yes.

Then you will be safe. She swore to your father to keep you out of harm's way. As long as you stay with her, then you will be fine. I knew he was trying to convince himself as much as me, but just hearing the words was a comfort.

5:50. "Asariel?" Althena knocked on the door. "Asariel, you ready? It's time to go!"

~*~

Three other warriors in full armor met Althena and I in the docking bay to join the reinforcements team in Midgard. Beta Titiana gave us the two-minute briefing as the pilot prepped with the bridge to leave the ship. "Last night, Alpha received an emergency signal, and rushed to the pole of the planet to retrieve a team of four Legends lead by Beta Ælfswiþ (Aelfswith). Two of them were critically injured," Althena clenched a fist, "and Alpha pushed the attacking Survivors back to Lake Turkana in Africa. There she set up a TMC, and now awaits you all to drive out the rest of the Survivors. The flight will be maybe ten minutes long, after which you all will drop from the craft to the TMC."

The Legends around me nodded, and I copied them a fraction of a second afterward.

Beta Titiana moved to exit the jet taking us to the planet's surface, but turned back around to face the group again. She met the eyes of everyone on the ship individually before saying proudly, "Legends never die," in perfect unison with the others as fiery mirrored cursive 'L's lit up the faces around me. I was startled as my own eyes burned, briefly jarred by the small flare of power.

The warriors around me checked and double checked their equipment in complete silence, and I felt awkward sitting on the side. Even Althena was up and about, checking her own personal healing equipment bottles that rattled around with the movement of the jet. "We are approaching the landing zone," the pilot called from the cockpit, and everyone began tugging on the straps of their armor in an effort to make sure everything was strapped down. Althena strapped the healing kit to her back.

"Drop in three—" Everyone lined up next to the door from which we would jump. "Two—" I had done this in drills before, but never in real life. The nausea was winding itself up my neck to sit in the center of my throat. "One—go, go, go!" the pilot shouted, and we were off. I was barely aware I had physically jumped, but then there I was free-falling, angled down like the rest of the team toward the small structure that AVIS had outlined white in my lenses. The TMC, or temporary mini-compound, was directly below us, nestled in the valley of a mountain range. It was almost completely camouflaged, but I recognized the series of rectangles and circles connected by the tube-like halls. I waited for the outline in my lenses to turn green before I flattened myself against the wind and began to fall slower. It was too dangerous to close my eyes, but I was good enough now that I didn't need to to slow the vibrations in the atoms around me to slow my fall.

The warriors flipped down to the ground, while I merely rolled in an effort to spread the last of the impact. Althena lead the way into the TMC, where she ran quickly off to the right and to the healing wing, where her patients were waiting. I followed the three warriors down the hallway. It was more of a tube than an actual hallway, made of some kind of firm canvas over a metal frame, which allowed light from the outside to illuminate the interior, and a string of lightbulbs hung from the ceiling for when night fell. When we emerged straight to the main strategy room that doubled as a mechanical lab. Cabinets and monitors covered the walls, which were made of a much sturdier material than the canvas-crafted halls. In the center of the room Alpha and two others poured over the central holo-table which was displaying a map, scrolling it around occasionally.

I was surprised to see that Alpha's armor was so simple. Both parts were tight, tough, leather. The hem of the tunic ended in layered points that curved smoothly over her hips, hemmed in a strip of red-orange fabric that matched the neckline. Plates of silver metal cascaded down her shoulders to cover her upper arms. Her elbows and forearms were covered with two plates of metal that wound together at the sides when the tunic ended past her elbow. Similar plates covered her knees, and the top of her boots that wove plates of metal down the length of her feet, and up the back of her heel and ankle. Her fingerless gloves were made of the same tight, comfortable leather that wrapped her hands. She had on her normal crossed scabbards on her back, the hilts of the twin swords hovering just above neck level. Her thighs also held collectively, about half-a-dozen two or three inch throwing knives that looked razor sharp.

If I had to guess, the woman to Alpha's right must have been Beta Ælfswiþ. She was dressed in leather pants with heavy black plating over her thighs that clipped themselves onto the vest-like corset that she wore over a plain cotton shirt. Her hands were covered by fingerless gloves, and from the back of her neck extended thick strips of black leather that hung behind her as a sort of cape. With a jolt I realized the other woman talking with Alpha was one of the warriors who had caught me and held me at arrow-point the night I had first come onto the ship in my pyjamas. She was dressed in her more familiar armor, a sort of dress made of leather that snapped across her chest and met her long, lace up gloves. But the more obvious give away was the hood and face covering she wore, accompanying the wooden bow and leather quiver.

It was then, with a jolt I realized. Most of the people I had seen were women. There was nothing wrong with that of course, but it was incredibly odd to see a lack of men after my male-dominant home. I would have to ask Althena about it later. Alpha would be too busy.

We all crowded around the table and Alpha got straight to business. "Alright, we've pushed the Survivors back to the mountains to the north of Lake Turkana." the holo map lit up two vast mountain ranges in red. "I'm pretty sure they're farther west than east, since the east is heavily populated." The east mountain range turned back to its normal color, and the wester one became a deeper crimson. "The locals are not what we would call friendly. Thus far we've been able to complete the operation without involving them, and I would like to keep it that way for now. As far as I can tell, no one here would be completely . . . friendly to us, and definately to our tech. As far as they can tell, we're Survivors."

Survivors. They were one of the opposing clans Alpha had told me about. This world must have once been Eternal land - Alpha's mother's land. And now Alpha was trying to get it back. As for the locals, not making contact yet made sense. To them people were invading their planet. We had no way to tell them we were friendly, and no guarantee they would believe us. Legend, Survivor, we would all look the same to them.

"They're out for blood, but we are not."

It was as if I had been rinsed in ice-water. I could be dead by the end of the day. My heart raced faster, and my veins burned in my frozen flesh.

Alpha's eyes flicked to me, "I'm declaring the mountain ranges to the north of Lake Turkana a no-shadow zone, under deep shadow conditions until we've isolated the Survivors position and they leave the planet."

Deep shadow conditions. I ran back through the list of terms Luitguard's training had taught me. Deep shadow conditions meant not a living soul knew you were a Legend. You completed your mission without anyone knowing about it, friend or foe or neither.

No-shadow zone. I hadn't heard that one before, but I knew shadows were apprentices of sorts to the Legends. Alpha had even called me her sha-

"No! Alpha, why?" I should have been relieved. If I didn't go to battle, there was no way I wouldn't come back. But I couldn't help feeling angry. Why would she shove me off to the side like that?

Beta Ælfswiþ snapped her neck around to look at me, orange-red hair whipping just below her chin. "You will respect our Alpha, shadow. If she wants you here, you will stay here."

Alpha held up a hand. "We will speak about this later Asariel, but my decision remains the same."

It took all the self-control I possessed not to snap back, but from the looks I was receiving around the circle, a couple of them would have something to say about it, from what I could see in her eyes, the woman with the mask over her mouth and nose would have something to do about it as well.

"I want a full medical clearance from Althena on each of you before we go. Sariel, you go first, tell her this takes top priority." The woman with the mask, Sariel nodded, still glaring at me.

Alpha glazed her vision over the circle once more before nodding and dismissing us. Everyone else around the circle walked out to follow Sariel to the medical wing. I stayed behind. Alpha was speaking with her Beta, different areas of the holo-map being shaded and unshaded in red, zooming in and out over particular locations. I didn't bother waiting for them to notice I was still there. "Alpha, why can't I go?"

Beta Ælfswiþ looked up with a snap, so fast that I thought she must have cricked her neck. "Have you no respect?" she seethed. "That is our Alpha you are talking to. She has protected you and given you the glory of being a companion to the Legends, the least you could do-"

Alpha raised her hand and the Beta fell silent immediately, her anger instead collecting and hardening to the coldest glare I had ever received.

"Asariel," my gaze snapped to Alpha, "I appreciate your willingness to be on the front lines." She paused for a moment and I studied her face. She looked tired, eyes drooping slightly, and it occured to me that I had never seen her not working. No matter when it was, when she took me around the ship, or when we ran into each other in the hall, she was always on a call, or speaking with someone on the ship. Even the night I snuck aboard the ship, she was fully dressed and answered the guard's call in mere minutes. "Do you remember when I told you about the other clans?" Alpha asked. I nodded. "Then you remember the Survivors. Another one of the clans I have to take my mother's lands back from. This is not a group of freedom fighters, or local rebels, or even Asgard. We Legends are not like the other clans. Survivors are ruthless slavers, who kill without a second thought. I swore to your father you would be safe, and you will not be safe out there. This is the safest place for you."

"The safest place for me is Asgard." The fiery cursive Ls around the Beta's eyes began to glow, and I could tell she wanted nothing more than to strangle me. But she headed Alpha's order, and I plowed on. "You promised my father I would be safe out on the front lines because you would be there to protect me. Alpha, I am supposed to protect this planet. How am I going to do that without fighting for it?"

"Your job is not to protect this planet. That duty is placed on the Legends alone. Your job is to maintain the work we've done, and alert us if there is any major trouble."

I almost stomped my foot in frustration, "Alpha you said I could come! You told me I was ready!"

Alpha looked at me with soft eyes. "You are ready. You are ready for anything this world could throw at you. But not to mess around with other clans. A team of my Legends, who have been training for years now, were almost killed by them." Alpha's voice and face hardened, "My decision and order stands, I will not have you killed."

Alpha bent down and continued studying the holo-maps. I opened my mouth to continue arguing, but Beta Ælfswiþ cut me off. "You are dismissed, shadow."

Now I could feel the same fire collecting in my own eyes, but before I could start shouting at her, a call came from the door. "So, I heard about the no-shadow rule. I guess I'm not going out either, as an injured?"

A woman came around the corner and stepped into the room wearing black leggings and a long, shaped tunic made of thin metal plates, with a bandage wrapped around her right thigh. Beta Ælfswiþ's markings around her eyes melted, the fire behind my eyes dissipated, and Alpha looked up with a half-smile. "Sorry, Vladís." Alpha called.

Vladís shrugged, and sat on the edge of the holo-table, across from Alpha on my other side. "It's fine. Saves the Survivors a wallop anyhow."

Beta Ælfswiþ snorted, releasing her arms from where they folded across her chest. "Either that or a pin-prick."

"Hey!" Vladís exclaimed. "I did better than you, for sure."

Alpha lifted an eyebrow. "She got out unscathed. You, on the other hand. . .."

"And now you're taking her side?" Vladís feigned disbelief. "Alpha, you know I really thought we had a connection here."

Beta Ælfswiþ rolled her eyes, a movement I would never have imagined from a woman obsessed with respect. "Yeah, a good solid connection. Like that Survivor's knife to your thigh."

Alpha flinched, and bit her lips to hold back her laughter, but Vladís laughed openly. "That was a good one." she acknowledged.

"You feel up to being HQ for this one?" Alpha asked, and Vladís nodded.

"Yeah, as long as you bring back those weird fruits I'll be good."

Beta Ælfswiþ eyed Vladís suspiciously. "We already have plenty to bring back with us for seeds."

"Yeah, but I want some for personal reasons."

"You are not making wine from the baobab fruit." Alpha spoke up, with a deadpan look.

"Don't be ridiculous!" Vladís defended, "It's gonna be vodka."

Beta Ælfswiþ murmured, 'Vladís' under her breath, and looked around with an exasperated expression.

"How many times have you tried this now? It's never any good."

"Well, how would you know Alpha? You never try it."

Alpha closed her eyes for a moment, and exhaled slowly. "No," she said with a hint of a laugh. "No, Vladís you are not making wine."

"Vodka," Vladís corrected.

"I don't care." Alpha retorted. "It's going to stink, and grow mold. Not on my ship."

"Or my TMC," Beta Ælfswiþ added.

"Vladís, what on earth is taking so long?" a voice called from down the hall.

"Sorry Althena!" Vladís called back, jumping off the table. "Althena says everyone is ready to go, we all checked out. The bikes are ready if you want to use them, but you'll have to double seat."

Alpha nodded, her serious face slipping over her features. "Then we head out in two." She then turned to me. "I want you to get a medical too, Asariel."

"I'll take her," Vladís volunteered. "Come on Asariel, the med bay is this way. You know, I've never really understood why we call it a med bay. It's more a room than a bay."

~*~

"And she just dismissed you?" Althena asked, squeezing the other end of a blood pressure cuff that was wrapped around my upper arm from where I was sitting up on a table that was still slightly damp from being wiped down after the last examination.

"Yes! And then Vladís comes in and they're all happy with each other, and– ow that is tight."

"Sorry, just hold on, just a couple more seconds," Althena said, watching the pressure gage on the cuff. "And . . . done."

She took the cuff off my arm, and typed away at the computer while I inspected my arm.

"What you have to understand, Asariel, is that we're more family than other clans are. Vladís, Ælfswiþ, and Alpha were all best friends when the Legends were in hiding, and then were captured. They shared a cell, when, of course, one of them wasn't being tortured." Althena sighed, her hands freezing for a moment. "You weren't there, but Alpha was, and still is, fiercely protective of all the Legends. She fought back so hard. But the punishments were harder. She would be gone for weeks, and be thrown back into the cell covered in blood, malnourished, dehydrated, and barely conscious. It was a wonder she never caught some disease." Althena paused again, staring off into space and swallowing. "Respect is very important to Beta Ælfswiþ, and while they mess around, even Vladís obeys and respects Alpha when the time comes for it. Especially now, TMCs are places of operation, where Ælfswiþ is called Beta, and the name Alpha would be respected and obeyed."

As much as I didn't want it to, it made sense. My questioning, my defiance, when there was a threat so close, and a battle imminent, it put them all on edge. They all went into defense, with walls high. It was how they survived.

"And you?" I looked over to Althena, who was still standing at the computer, as she pondered my question.

"I'm a healer," she finally said, shrugging lightly. "Whenever Alpha was thrown into the cell, Ælfswiþ, Vladís, and Fausta would all lunge at the guards, attack them for hurting her. They got angry, some more analytical than others in their attacks, but I was always more concerned. I learned most of what I know on healing from taking care of Alpha." Althena moved around to the lab desk filled with equipment and began taking things out of the small drawers, and washing her hands. I allowed silence to reign for a moment longer.

"Fausta? I haven't met her yet."

"Dead. She got pregnant and died in childbirth. Poisoned wouldn't let her out of the cell to be in a sanitary place. Punishment for acting out. We used all our energy to help her with magic, but in the end it wasn't enough. Alpha raised her daughter, Retane."

I blanched, my head beginning to spin. "Were all punishments that severe?"

Althena nodded, carrying a tray back to where I sat laden with small tools. "If the Poisoned liked you, you were allowed to come out alive. If not, well . . .."

"Liked you?"

"They especially liked the women. The men fought back, but everyone who did, died. That's why most of us are female, we were most likely to survive. Here, give me your arm."

I watched her movements as she cleaned my inner elbow and wrapped a rubber strip around my upper arm. "That's really tight."

"Yeah, I have to stop blood flow if I'm going to collect it."

"Collect it?" I shrieked slightly, Althena giving my a slightly amused glance as I stared in horror. "What are you going to do with it?"

"You'll be fine," Althena reassured, "I just need to test some in that machine over there," she gestured behind her. "Just to see if you're healthy." She pulled a syringe off the tray and pressed it up against the area she cleaned. "This is going to pinch just a bit."

I bit my lip in anticipation. "Ow. I thought you were supposed to be a healer." Althena smiled grimly, and waited for the small vial to fill. I watched in fascination. Althena put a plastic bandage over the prick, disposed of the syringe, and carried the vial over to the machine she indicated to start it.

"But you all got out, right?"

"It was a long while, a long while. I don't even want to know how long, but I'll bet it was a solid couple thousand years. But Alpha eventually pulled us out. It took us 30 years or so to rebuild."

"And then what?"

Althena looked up at me, "We made a couple stops, but we came to Asgard."

It took me a moment to process. Less than a hundred years ago, the Legends were being tortured, in dirty, rotting cells, standing up for each other, and healing each other's almost beat to unconscious forms.

"Why didn't you stay undercover?"

Althena smiled at the floor, "I told you, Alpha's protective. The Poisoned are the worst, but all the other clans do the same. That's how they rule over all the worlds they have jurisdiction over. We can't go through that and then just let others do the same."

It made sense, it was stupid, but it made sense. If I found something that made me excited or happy, I would share it with Loki, Thor, and my father almost immediately. It was the same with the Legends, they found something horrible, and now they're trying to protect everyone else from it.

"But it's just like you said, Alpha's protective, she's perfectly able to protect me out there."

Althena shook her head, "I don't think she is. A week ago, sure, but she hasn't gotten sleep in days, and she refuses to let me look at her. And you have to remember, Alpha's good, she's already made a reputation for herself amongst the clans, but she's still new at this. I just don't think she's willing to risk it."

A green light flashed from the machine, making a loud beeping noise. Over in the corner a noise came from a curtained-off part of the room. "Sorry Irene, I swear that was the last one." Althena spoke, and the woman in the bed behind the curtain whispered a small, "okay."

"Come on," Althena beckoned me to the door. "Alpha already left. We should join Vladís in the strat room."

~*~

"You two are just in time" Vladís welcomed, standing over the holo-table which was displaying a map following six red dots who moved steadily up a mountain. "They're about to break in now."

"Okay, here we go." Alpha's voice called over the comm system.

"Legends never die." came six voices over the comm, in almost perfect sync, with Vladís and Althena.

"What does that mean?" I asked Althena. "Why do you all say that?"

Althena's eyes were trained on the holo-table. "It means we're together. A reminder of duty before we go to war, or battle or whatever. It also means good luck without jinxing anything."

What was jinxing? I had absolutely no idea, but decided it was better not to ask.

"Entry obtained." Beta Ælfswiþ reported.

"Now to find their Beta." Alpha added.

We waited as the team split up and cleared several rooms of the base.

"Wait . . . do you smell that?" A voice I had never heard before asked.

"Yeah, Sariel I do. And I found it." Alpha answered. "Ælfswiþ where are you?"

"Headed your way."

Ælfswiþ cursed colorfully. "Take note everyone, we might have hostages."

"What is it?" Vladís asked, "What have you found?"

"Poisons," Ælfswiþ breathed.

"Poisoned? What are they doing there?" Vladís asked in alarm, her hand moving to her sword.

"No, not Poisoned, poisons. In containers. I'm seeing Hydrofluoric Acid, Beta blockers, Beta Toxin, Arsenic, Nerve gas, . . . oh Alpha." Beta Ælfswiþ broke off.

"What? Beta what have you found?"

But it was not Beta Ælfswiþ who responded. I had never heard Alpha's voice so dense, so passionately and smoothly angry. "Strychnine." I was almost scared to speak up, "Strychnine?"

"It's a deadly poison. Causes fierce convulsions and muscle spasms, constricting breath. Not many people can survive even small doses. . .. Poisoned used to give it to people in a tiny room with walls covered in spikes. It was their favorite way to watch us die."

Vladís sgripped the hilt of her sword, eye marking dancing with liquid fire. "Alpha, let me come out there. If that's as concentrated enough-"

"No, absolutely not."

"Alpha, if you really found Strychnine-"

"Then you definitely can't be anywhere near here while you're injured."

Vladís beat her fists on the holo-table but offered no argument.

The cursive L clan markings burned brightly on Althena's eyes. "Alpha are you alright?"

"I'm fine, but whoever's been receiving doses of this is definitely not."

"Alpha I found them," Sariel called.

"Keep hidden, I'm coming to you."

"They have hostages."

Vladís cursed, her own markings beginning to show.

For the next couple moments, the only thing I could hear were metallic crashes, screams, and grunts of effort.

"Where are they?" Alpha's voice echoed, perfectly controlled and smooth.

"Who?" came a gravelly voice that scratched against my inner ear and sent chills down my spine.

A sharp smack that sent me flinching.

"Where are they?" Spoke a far more cold and demanding voice, making myself shrink back despite being in a completely separate space.

"I don't know what you mean."

A swish, thunk. The man screamed. "Where. Are. They."

"I suppose you will never find out."

Sariel cursed. "He's dead. They all are. Judging from that other room, probably cyanide."

"We can't leave until we rescue the hostages." Ælfswiþ pointed out.

"And we won't." Alpha assured. "But they're not here."

"Alpha, what's this?" Sariel asked.

"AVIS?"

"I'm seeing an alert or homing beacon of some type, Alpha". came the robotic voice, and the small blinking disc, no bigger or thicker than a fingernail, was projected on the holo-table.

"He alerted the other base." Vladís realized, typing away at the side panel of the table. "AVIS can you track it?"

"Doesn't matter." A cackle sound, and to my complete surprise Althena leaned over to me, pointing to the disk and whispered, "It's coming from that thing."

"One hour. Or they'll be dead. I want a complete surrender." There was a pop.

Trace incomplete. AVIS told us.

AVIS scan for anything in the surrounding area. Next to me, Althena was white as a sheet, and Vladís was still typing away at the table.

"I'm detecting a faint power source in this mountain." AVIS lit up a mountain in white on the holo-table to the North-east of the TMC.

"Location received. Let's go." Alpha spoke, and the red dots on the map began to move.

"Althena, Irene has requested assistance." Althena bit down hard on her lip, and ran out the door and down the hall.

Vladís stepped away from the table, and clipped her sword to her back. "AVIS, prep a bike."

Will do, AVIS answered kindly.

"Come on, we only have a couple minutes until Althena realized Irene didn't actually call her."

"Wait that was you?"

"Yeah, I hacked it."

I followed Vladís out the other door and to the docking bay where one last bike was waiting. A couple spheres were circling around it, checking tire pressure, and filling the tank with gas. On one wall, a row of helmets were hanging, two of them were plugged in and being checked. Vladís walked over to the wall, pulling the two helmets down, and pulling out the cords. She threw one to me. I caught it, and watched as she put hers on and got on the bike.

"We're going? Why?"

Vladís tapped the display on the bike. "Alpha's way to the west. She's never going to get there in time. We however, are much closer."

Nausea erupted in my stomach, my heart jumped into my head, causing it to pound, and bile stuck itself in a glob halfway up my throat. "To battle?"

"Well someone's gotta save them." Vladís looked up at me. "Weren't you the one who said you wanted to go out to the field?"

"VLADÍS!" Althena shrieked, she was just down the hall.

"It's now or never. I'm going with or without you."

I stared at my reflection in the helmet I was holding, and took a deep breath. The Valkyrie may be dead, but their purpose is not.

I threw on the helmet and got on the bike.

~*~

"Remember, Alpha still declared this place as under deep shadow conditions. No one can know we're here."

"Don't they already know we're here?"

Vladís turned her head to look at me from where I was sitting behind her on the bike, smirking. "They know Alpha's here."

We came up to the base of a cliff, and Vladís stopped the bike. It looked like standard terrain for the area. Green forested areas, with sharp, jagged cliffs of grey rock in flat-topped spikes.

Vladís gestured up to the top of the cliff. "We gotta get up there."

We both got off the bike, and stood in the thick, dark green foliage. "Here," Vladís handed me an earpiece and I stuck it in my ear. "Don't turn it on yet, you don't want to hear Althena yelling at us through the comms. Now, come on."

Vladís' eye markings glowed, and she summoned a whip of fire to extend from her hand and latch onto the rock-face. She jumped, swinging upwards, before throwing another fire whip from her other hand to pull her further up the wall. She was agile, moving from ledge to ledge along the cliff-face. But how was I going to get up? What do you have? I almost snorted at the thought. I've got my magic. Almost instantly my eyes glowed gold, and a staircase of fire wound itself up the cliff wall. Vladís stopped swinging. "What are you doing?" she called. "Deep shadow conditions, remember? You can see that from a mile away! If you're going to do stairs, conjure one step at a time!"

Okay. One step at a time. I moved so I was parallel with the rock wall and looked down at my feet. There stood a floating step, nothing more than a board sticking out of the rock face. I stepped onto it, and conjured one just in front of it. I carefully stepped onto it and looked back. Sure enough the step behind me disappeared. Over and over again, I stepped my way up the mountainside, quickly falling into a rhythm. We made it to the top of the mountain quickly, standing on the flat top. "AVIS?"

Vladís pressed a finger to her earpiece. She frowned and looked over at me. I looked back, but had no idea what was happening. "Oh, you can turn your earpiece on, Althena's mostly done screaming at us. We're apparently going to have a talk with Alpha and a couple training sessions with Beta Titiana when we get back, by the way."

"Yeah, I've done them before." I answered, clicking the power button. "I think I will be okay."

Vladís smirked at me. "Now, where's the entrance?"

"I am not detecting an entrance, however, this is definitely the location of the power signal."

Vladís looked around. "I'm not seeing anything either. If it's here, it's gotta be hidden."

"Hidden where?" Althena retorted, "You're literally standing on a rock. The only hidden place for it to be would have to be-"

"In it." Vladís completed. "Come on Asariel, we need to find some sort of entrance."

The two of us both started back down, scaling the rock wall, running our hands over the rock, and brushing aside any odd plants that lived on tiny jutting ledges.

"Wait, Asariel, freeze. AVIS picked up something from your lense right there."

"My what– oh." I often forgot that everything I saw AVIS also did through my lense.

Vladís conjured a small platform for herself directly next to me, and swung over to it. "What is it? Where is it?"

"Just to the left of your fingers Asariel, there's a small, unnatural cut in the rock wall. It has to be the Survivors, there's no way the locals could have cut that."

Vladís nodded, "I see it." she leaned over me, to the cut, and ran her finger along it going in one direction, I went the other way, coming to a corner.

"Hey, there's a corner here, in the cut, look at this."

Vladís did not look at me, instead continuing to follow her own side, "I wonder if this is some sort of cut out then, like to cover something up."

"Probably a window."

"Why would they put windows on a place like this?"

"Well, I can't imagine much light comes in if the place is literally inside a rock."

"Uh, hello, lights? Here Asariel, step back."

I retreated several floating steps sideways, and Vladís pressed a hand in the center of the rectangle-shaped cut out in the wall. Her hand glowed fire-orange and she pulled it out of the wall, allowing it to fall several hundred feet and break at the base of the mountain.

"Vladís! Deep shadow conditions! Come on!"

Vladís ignored Althena, and pulled herself up to slip feet-first into the small hole in the rock face. I conjured a floating step just below the window and squirmed my way inside, head first.

I landed in a dark room that was split in half by the strip of sunlight from the hole in the upper half of the wall. The light bounced and reflected off the thick dust that hung in the air to illuminate tall objects covered in large cloths.

"I don't want to know what's underneath those." Vladís whispered.

I nodded in agreement. "Let's get out of here." I moved toward the door at the end of the room and put my hand on the door knob.

"Wait, Asariel, we don't-"

But it was too late, I already had opened the door.

I was surprised I stayed alive when the blast went off and it blew me straight through the rock wall and down to the base of the mountain below, scraping and thudding my ribs, ankles, wrists, elbows, and knees through a canopy of foliage complete with thorn-covered vines and spiderwebs, to the earth below. My back stretched over a large tree root, and it was all I could to to scramble out of the way to miss being hit by giant chunks of falling rock. I was dizzy, I had hit my head on something, but I had no idea what. I saw browns, greens, and greys hazing in and out of focus and melting with my newly unorganized static senses of the magic around me. I fell over, but felt no impact, blinking slowly to bite back at the haze. My eyes were closed and my headache got worse. My eyes were open and the green-grey haze made me nauseous. I closed my eyes again, and the fuzzy red behind my eyelids condensed to a sharp, laser focused line. I opened them again and the green-grey fuzz penetrated by two amber dots made by–. My vision focused instantly, and revealed to me that the dots were eyes attached to the dark frame of a large, predatory cat. My heart rate doubled in its exhausted state, and my head whipped around to find more of them closing in around me. I was surrounded.

Think! I chided myself. Come on!

What do you have? A voice echoed in my head. My earpiece! I touched my ear, only to find it had slipped out of my ear and fallen to blend with the dense forest.

What do you have? The voice repeated.

I almost snorted and rolled my eyes. Magic is not going to help me here. Unless . . . I closed my eyes and placed my fingertips on the soil, tuning back into the static of the world around me. I very quickly saw tunnels and highways winding themselves with everything around me. It was a desperate idea, and it might very well kill me, but it was the idea I had.

Can you hear me?

The cat looked up at me and nodded ever so slightly.

~*~

I crouched behind a set of boxes in the dark and dusty room where the Shadows had Vladís chained to the wall. She was very clearly beat, with blood trickling down a head wound, which she was struggling to keep held up. Her stab wound was fresh and bleeding heavily, the bandages long since discarded. They had removed her metal armor, and she was sweating, clearly soaking her leggings and cotton undershirt even through the deep black color, and her limbs and neck shook with tremors every couple seconds. Around her, hands and ankles roped together, were the local prisoners. They were all deep-chocolate skinned, eyes painted with terror.

"You know," the Survivor Beta spoke, lifting Vladís' chin. "I really thought your Alpha would be here by now. Time's almost up."

"She will be here," Vladís snapped.

The Beta Survivor cackled. His scratchy voice matched almost perfectly with his armor, a standard set of armor, with heavy guard plates, a blue-painted rune carved on the breastplate. His hair was long and grey, dusting his shoulders, and cursive, blue S's wound themselves around his eyes. "I know she will be. She has to surrender."

Vladís yanked on the chains in an effort to lunge at the Beta, seething, "My Alpha will tear out your throat."

The Beta smirked at her. "I'll give you a choice. I know you have communication equipment on you. Call your Alpha, or you get another dose of this."

"Never." Vladís spat in his face.

The Beta did not flinch. "Very well then." He stepped over to a cart filled with tiny glass bottles and needles, the only thing in the room not covered by a sheet. He picked up a needle, and walked back over to Vladís, who was breathing heavily. "Let's see," he whispered, "where should I put this?" he asked before jabbing it straight into Vladís' stab wound. She shrieked in agony, painful muscle spasms erupted through her body.

"One more dose, and you die. You'd better hope your Alpha comes soon."

I looked around to the pairs of amber eyes concealed around the room, behind the Beta Survivor. I pressed my fingertips to the ground. Ready?

I waited a moment. They had never responded to me, but I still left a couple seconds of wait. Go!

The giant black panthers lept out of their hiding places around doorways, under sheets, and on light fixtures, to pounce on the Survivors standing guard around their Beta. I waited until they were sufficiently distracted to run over to Vladís, who was still shaking uncontrollably. I hacked away at the chains keeping her bound with one of my gold-hilted knives. Vladís' right arm fell out of the chains and she slumped, lopsided, over herself, still bound by her other three limbs. The chain fell to the rock flooring with a clatter that made me wince, but not nearly as much as when I felt a hand grapple around my throat and turn me around. I choked, scrambling and tugging at the firm grasp around my throat, a harsh terror seizing in my chest. My neck was on fire, and I could already feel bruises forming.

"And who," the Beta breathed, "are you?"

"Your worst nightmare." I fell to the ground as the Beta Survivor pulled out his sword to lock blades with Alpha, who had come in behind us. The rest of the team joined the panthers in subduing the rest of the Survivors, while Sariel ran over to Vladís.

I had never seen Alpha more laser focused than she was now. The fiery Ls around her face were almost too bright to see her eyes, but I could tell how dark they were. How much she wanted this man dead.

I thought I had seen fierce warriors train, I thought I had seen magic being used before, but fire moved around Alpha, absorbing the blue frost that leaked from the Beta Survivor. She moved with faster agility than I had ever seen, never missing a beat, or a place to give a thrust with one sword and parry with the other. She carved out magic with her blades, pulling and even leaching from Beta Survivor, taking down his defenses. She was much too fast for him.

The two locked swords and stared at each other over the interlocking weapons. "So, Lady Legend, are you ready to surrender."

This was not the right thing to say. In a perfectly calculated response, Alpha took one of her swords from the interlock and slashed it deep into his stomach. He crumpled, holding the deep gash and bleeding everywhere. Around the pair, the other Survivors began to surrender without a continued fight.

"Bind him." Alpha ordered, and Ælfswiþ quickly obeyed none too gently, hissing something in his ear, before kicking him in the stomach and pulling him up to sit with the other Survivors. Alpha hurried over to Vladís, who was now unchained, and gently sent a shower of sparks over her form. Slowly the convulsions stopped and she came to a stand-still. Alpha caught her up in her arms and held her head against her chest. "I am so glad you're alive," she whispered.

It was this moment when I really understood why Alpha refused to let us go. Either of us could have easily died in the last few minutes. She was strict, and often-times inflexible, but it was because she wanted to keep everyone safe, not because she hated us.

Alpha helped Vladís stand and brought her over to where I was, where Alpha then embraced me the same way. "Let's listen to me next time, okay?"

We all laughed half-heartedly, and Alpha turned to the Survivors. "If one of you wants to call your Alpha to pick you up, the only thing I want is for you to get off this planet."

The Beta Survivor smirked. "Oh, none of us are leaving."

The air was filled with a strange ticking sound, and I immediately called a shield, which materialized in front of me at the moment an explosion threw everyone and everything into the air. Alpha acted first, pulling everyone to her with the same light whips that had fascinated Thor only a couple days ago. She then conjured a giant net which tangled itself up into the canopy of the trees underneath us. We all fell into it, and all of the Legends contributed to a mass shield that kept the falling boulders from crushing us.

When the earth stopped shaking, we made it back down to the ground, where Ælfswiþ looked back over at the mountain. "The whole thing is just rubble now," she commented. I sat myself down on the ground against a tree and closed my eyes.

"Hey, where did the locals go?"

I opened my eyes briefly to see Alpha gesture off to the rest of the jungle. "I don't care. They're alive. Let's just… stay here for a moment, and then we'll head back to the TMC."

Vladís snorted from where she was sitting on the ground. "And to think, it's barely noon."


	7. Chapter 6 - Tesseract

Althena was furious when I walked into the med bay, her glare constant as she moved to assess my injuries. "Look at your neck," she grumbled, her fingertips lightly brushing over the dark bruises that laid around my throat. "_Why _did you just run out there? With Vladís of all people?"

"I just wanted to help," I offered, wincing as my voice scraped against my throat. "I think I did that. _Ow, _ow ow!" I hissed and jerked backwards as Althena dabbed my arms with some disinfectant, which stung terribly.

"You triggered an explosion that sent you hurtling off the side of a mountain. It's a miracle you didn't die." She grabbed at some gauze close by her, sighing as she began to wrap it around my stinging wrists. "You can't just run into any situation because you want to help. You will kill yourself by doing that. And we'll be leaving soon, and we won't be watching over you constantly. You need to learn that for yourself."

I knew that. But I was desperate to prove myself, to Alpha, to Ælfswiþ. To me. I wanted to be strong enough, and worthy enough of this mission I had. "I know," I mumbled, wincing as Althena moved to prod my ribs, lifting my shirt slightly to examine them. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry to me. And even if I disagree with what you did, you did save Vladís's life." She narrowed her eyes at my ribs, the skin around them bruised and discolored. "They didn't break, which is good. Badly bruised. I'll wrap them, just in case." She continued to wrap the gauze, softly pressing the material firmly around my ribcage as I tried not to squirm or wince. "You did good. But that won't always happen." She shined a small light in my eyes, and I fought the urge to wince away from the sudden sharp light. "I don't think you did any lasting damage. Ice those bruises on your neck. Find me if anything else comes up."

"I will. Thank you," I smiled lightly, and Althena smiled back.

Almost as soon as I exited the small area, Alpha strode towards me with hints of exhaustion tugging at her movements, though the weariness that had previously rested on her features seemed far less prominent. "Asariel, I need to speak with you."

"Oh. Okay. Am I… in trouble?" I asked slowly, trying to stretch out the words. Alpha laughed lightly before shaking her head.

"No, nothing like that. Although there are definitely some people who wouldn't mind handing out some form of punishment. This is about your task on Earth."

She led me through several winding hallways, the light breaking through the trees throwing patterned shadows across the floor. She would stop and chat with a few passing Legends along the way, small talk that I couldn't force myself to focus on as exhaustion wormed its way into my head. Eventually, however, we came to a stop at one of the holotables we had been at before. I shuffled my feet, hands clasped together as I stared at the table.

"Asgard doesn't have anything like this. Or even lights for that matter," I blurted out, hardly containing the curiosity that had constantly been battering me since being on the Legend ship.

Alpha nodded, looking at the table appreciatively. "I suppose not. Earth doesn't either, if that's what you're thinking. I'd guess maybe a couple thousand years before they're anything close to this level of technology. Still, they'll learn."

I must have looked slightly disappointed, as she smiled warmly before continuing. "You know, you're going to be able to see them figure this out. See this species find their place in the universe."

"I don't know how I can do that," I muttered, staring at my shoes. "I'm just… me. I'm not like you or any of the other Legends. And I… I'm scared, Alpha. I'm really, _really _scared."

"Hey," Alpha spoke softly, stepping closer and putting both hands on my shoulders. "Being scared is okay. Being scared is what pushes you to do better. And, for the record, I think being 'just you' is more than enough. You risked your life to save Vladís, who, by the way, is incredibly grateful. And I'm not exactly sure what you did with the panthers, but _you_ did that. And I'm not saying it won't be hard, because it will. But it will be alright. I swear to you."

I smiled weakly before nodding, still not trusting myself to speak. Instead, I fiddled with the edge of the holotable, hardly able to hold still. "I'm guessing you're going to leave soon?"

Alpha hesitated before nodding. "Tomorrow. At first light. I plan on visiting a nearby village, mostly to find a place for you to stay until you are comfortable enough to find your own home. But we are leaving."

I swallowed, nausea settling in my stomach, the feeling somehow familiar. "And what should I do? After you leave?"

"Watch over humanity. Make sure they grow and learn from their mistakes." I watched as Alpha's face slipped into a relaxed smile. "Although, I have heard of some conflict in Norway. You are strong enough to fight, and I spoke to Odin before our departure from Asgard about a possible aid in that endeavour. Meaning…"

I felt myself straighten, a wide grin splitting my face. "Thor and Loki can come?"

She laughed lightly, nodding. "Thor and Loki can come."

I felt the questions bubbling up, spilling out of my mouth before giving myself time to even contemplate them. "When will they come? Where even _is _Norway? How far away is it? How long will it take to travel? Where are we _now? _Will my father come? What if–"

"_Asariel!_" Alpha laughed openly, holding her hands up as I froze, my mouth still open. "Slow down! One question at a time, alright?"

I smiled bashfully, clasping my hands in front of me. "Where are we now?" I repeated after thinking for a moment.

A smile and a heartbeat later, Alpha gave her answer. "We're in a small country in Africa. Wakanda."

"We'll still talk?"

"Of course."

"And if anything goes wrong, you'll come?"

"As quickly as possible."

"Are you sure I can do this?"

"Absolutely."

I was wringing my hands, sheepishly standing near the Legend ship as Alpha continued to reassure me. She immediately reached out to grasp my shoulders, a continual sign of support in the few weeks I had known her. "You'll do great. And I am literally just a thought away. You remember the plan?"

I nodded stiffly. "I'm staying here for a few weeks, with a Wakanda villager–"

"Arika."

"Right. Arika. Sorry. I'll stay with her for a few days before reaching out to my father. He should be able to send me to Norway through the Bifrost, and he will send Thor and Loki and maybe a few more people to quiet a war with the invaders there."

"Good. You're going to be absolutely fine." She smiled at me, and I struggled to smile back before she pulled me into a hug. "I promise."

"Thank you," I whispered, trying to relax my stiffened shoulders. "For everything."

"You don't need to thank me. And either way, it was my pleasure." She pulled back, still smiling warmly. "Good luck, Asariel."

"You too," I replied, lacing my fingers together tightly and I stepped backwards a few paces. Alpha didn't waste much time, returning onto her ship with one last wave.

As the ship began to ascend, I found myself hesitant to return back to the village. Instead, I watched as it eventually grew into a small speck in the crystal blue sky, then nothing at all, and I felt a serene peace fall over me.

For the first time on my entire life, I was alone.

And yet, I suddenly had a purpose. One far greater than any I had growing up on Asgard.

A small smile slid onto my face, as I stared up into the sky I had never known before. I suddenly had an entire life ahead of me, one where I could do good for an entire planet. And suddenly, I wasn't alone. I took a breath before turning back to the Wakandan village, a determination set into my step and hope burning in my chest.

A few days became several years as civil war wrapped itself around the country of Wakanda. The explosion from the Survivors' base had thrown great rocks the size of full villages around the country. All of these mini-asteroids contained what the locals called Vibranium, and it's many special properties caused even more civil wars. I couldn't bring myself to leave them until I had helped sort it out. After all, it was partly my fault the metal existed in the first place. I had no way of telling but I had a feeling it was my own inexperienced magic that created the strange hybrid metal.

Arika had quickly carved out a place for me in Wakanda, offering me a permanent home and someone to talk to. She was quiet and strict, insisting I learned the language before anything else and teaching me about her country. But as the tensions rose over the vibranium, it quickly became apparent that simply watching and waiting want going to do anything, and I found myself calling for the same creatures who saved my life while fighting the Survivors.

The black panthers and I were a peace keeping force, preventing the Kings of Wakanda's several clans from destroying each other. It was a long, hard struggle, but when a warrior named Bashenga came to me with an herb to increase his strength and endurance, the other Kings pledged their loyalty to him.

The success was monumental to me, proof that I could fulfill the mission I was given. Wakanda was finally at peace, something that had almost seemed impossible years beforehand. I knew I was no longer needed, so for the first time since coming to Earth, I prepared myself to leave Wakanda.

I stood near the outskirts of the forest, my armor in a small sack slung over my back. Night had fallen, the cool air pleasantly blowing through my hair, which was braided over my shoulder. I could feel the presence of the panthers nearby me, though that had been a constant reassurance throughout the entirety of the wars, and it struck my how strange it was going to be to leave them.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "Father? If you can hear me, I need to speak with you."

The effect of that simple statement was immediate. I felt a deep warmth blossom in my chest, slowly spreading upwards until I felt my eyes burn a familiar gold. And when I opened my eyes once more, I wasn't surrounded by the cool tones of Wakanda. Instead, I found myself in the Bifrost, standing directly in front of my father.

Immediately, I felt my eyes well with tears, running forward to meet Heimdall in a warm embrace. He let out a laugh, his hand resting on the back of my head. "I missed you too," he chuckled, kissing the top of my head softly. I grinned pulling back quickly.

"How's Asgard?" I asked, excitement overwhelming me as I fought the urge to bounce on my toes. "And Thor? Loki? How are _you_?"

"All is well, my child. And I do know why you wanted to speak with me," he responded, taking a small step back.

"I thought you would," I admitted, still smiling widely. "But I still wanted to see you."

"And I'm glad you did. I will alert Odin about your conflict, and I am more than certain Thor and Loki will leap at the opportunity to visit you," Heimdall assured me. "As for you, I can use the Bifrost to transport you."

The Asgardian base was massive, far bigger than I had previously imagined. I had never actually seen Asgard go to war against another group, and even seeing Loki and Thor is battle gear was jarring. But even with our numbers, the Frost Giants still made me incredibly nervous; though their army wasn't as big, they were far more powerful than a single Asgardian, warrior or not.

I ducked into a small enclosure, where Odin was seated, hunched over some battle plans. Thor and Loki both stood to the left of him, and a handful of warriors to his right. I snuck a smile to Loki, who glanced towards me when I entered, before hurrying to tell Odin of my newest insight.

"Allfather," I began, bowing my head in recognition. "There's been some news concerning Tønsberg."

Odin straightened, his eyes narrowed at me as I fought the urge to look away. "Proceed."

"Laufey has… almost destroyed the entire village. He was holding back his full power until now." Odin swore, jerking his head towards his sons, both of them watching the exchange intently.

"What does he have?" He demanded, his words sharp and almost accusing.

I had a moment of hesitation, already suspecting the King's reaction. "I believe he has the Casket of Eternal Winters."

He cursed once more. There was a stretch of silence, during which I clasped my hands tightly behind my back, toying with a piece of fabric hanging off my armor. "Leave me. All of you." When we didn't immediately move, he began to shout. "Now!"

I bowed my head once more, hurriedly backing outside once more. The warriors were quick to disperse, but the princes came to talk with me almost immediately.

"I'm sure Father will find a way to beat them," Thor tried to sound confident, but it was clear he was worried. "They aren't invincible."

"I know," I muttered, squeezing my eyes shut. "I just didn't think it would be so complicated." Thor reached out, squeezing my hand reassuringly before letting go once more.

"I'll be back in a moment. I'm going to find some sort of weapon to use, because unlike certain people, I don't have a steady stream of magic," he stretched the last word out, wiggling his fingers slightly with a laugh. I cracked a smile, waving slightly at him as he turned away.

"You don't think Father can match their power," Loki said, not a hint of a question in his voice. I glanced at him, letting my shoulders fall.

"No," I admitted, rubbing my eyes. "Nothing _he_ has is nearly powerful enough."

Loki drew his eyebrows together, squinting at me before his eyes went wide. "You think–"

"I know," I interrupted him, holding up a hand. "Alpha told me about the power those stones have. And I know she told you too."

"But…" he drifted off, clearly looking for the right words. "How do we even know it will work?"

"We don't. But it's better than nothing."

Loki stared at me, worry and doubt written clearly on his face. "Even if it does work, Odin will know about it. I've kept it safe for this long, I don't want it to just be stowed away like his other relics," he admitted, wringing his hands.

"Do you have it now?" I asked softly, my curiosity getting the better of me. Loki's eyes bore into mine sharply before he gave a nearly imperceptible nod. He glanced around briefly before holding out his hand, and I watched in awe as what looked like a glowing blue cube materialised in his grasp.

"Alpha said it worked like a doorway through space. I don't know everything about it, but I think I can get it to work," he admitted, now cupping the cube with both hands. I grinned, reaching out hesitantly to touch the smooth top, amazed at the energy that seemed to be buzzing from it.

"What did she say it was called?" I asked, voice hardly above a whisper. Loki's face scrunched up, his eyes closing for just a moment.

"I think she said it was the Space Stone. I've been calling it the Tesseract," he answered, smiling sheepishly. "She mentioned that it was a case for something inside." I nodded, pulling my hand back.

"We should tell Odin. We can't let the Frost Giants win."

Loki still looked hesitant, but he nodded as well, and I watched as the Tesseract faded out of existence once more. I grinned before grabbing his hand, pulling him back towards Odin.

"Allfather?" I asked softly, standing in the entrance of the enclosure as Loki seemed to shrink behind me. "Loki and I may have an idea."

Odin, who had been pacing behind a table, froze, turning towards me with a scowl. "And _what,_" he snapped, "would that be?"

I felt a spark of irritation burst in my chest. Still, I stamped it down, tilting my chin up in some small act of defiance. "An Infinite Stone."

The effect was immediate, as Odin's glare melted off into a look of disbelief. "What did you say?" He demanded, striding towards me as Loki finally peeked out from behind me.

"I believe we have and Infinite Stone," I repeated, my voice growing weaker as Odin suddenly seemed to tower over me. He sighed heavily, closing his eye as his jaw clenched.

"It's an _Infinity _Stone, you daft child." he chided, his voice cold. "And I want to know exactly why you think you have one."

"She doesn't," Loki spoke up, staring up at his father with what almost looked like guilt. "I do."

Odin didn't respond immediately, staring at Loki, his expression unreadable. "Of course," he growled, eyes trained on the dark haired prince. "I knew I sensed a shift of power. I just didn't think that you would be so foolish to keep it from me."

"Father–" Loki tried, clearly scared, but Odin interrupted him.

"So you have it?" He demanded, his eyes still dark. Loki nodded, swallowing, and held out a shaking hand, once again making the Tesseract materialize in his hand.

Odin took the glowing cube from Loki's hand, holding it with the tips of his fingers, inspecting it carefully. He was quiet for a moment, before he spoke in a tone unusually casual, "When the Frost Giants came to this planet, they intended to make a statement. King Laufey wants his son back." Odin's eyes flicked to Loki and landed back on me, "who I took from him years ago. But now, with the Tesseract in my posession," Loki's head lifted slightly, "Laufey will know his place once more."

The irritation in my chest fizzled back out to fear, and hardened to doubt. If Laufey was only here to get his son back, and Odin was holding him kidnapped in some dark cell underneath Asgard. Was he screaming, crying for his family, or had he given up by now. Did he even remember them? I could envision him in a cell, similar to the ones I had seen in the Survivor's base what seemed like eons ago. I had not been in contact with Alpha for years, but somehow, I knew she would tear apart the palace brick by brick to find the boy.

My words caught in my throat and before I could force myself to speak I was interrupted by Loki. "What exactly are you planning to do with the Tesseract?"

Odin almost smiled. "Such a weapon is made to move the heavens and the planets, and it will do nothing less."

I straightened in alarm, and exchanged a glance with Loki, but once again I was interrupted, this time by a new visitor, who stormed into the tent, and bowed with a fist over his chest. "Allfather, General Hardstriker has assembled the men, Laufey is advancing over the ridge to the east."

Odin nodded. "Dismissed."

The man stood and left the tent, Odin moving quickly on his heels. I wasn't even aware of speaking until the words were vibrating out in the open. "Let all of this be avoided, we should give Laufey his son back."

Odin looked at me long and hard, with dark eyes towering several feel over Loki and I. "I will not bother to remind you, child, that it was you who asked for assistance. You asked me to save you, and you will be grateful for it."

"Your assistance will kill dozens of Asgardians and many more Midgardians. Alpha told me to-"

Odin wheeled around to face me and nearly spat in my face, "I will not give up my leverage for the instructions you are clearly not competent enough to be given!"

Cold fear washed over me. It was all I could do to nod as Odin stalked out of the tent.

"Where's Thor? I haven't seen him for a while."

Loki and I were sitting a ways from the collection of tents outside the small town of Tonsberg Norway. The sound of marching armor receding into the abnormally silent night.

Loki sighed, his breath puffing in the cold night air, adding to the thick fog hovering over everything. "The Allfather has sent him back to secure Asgard." Bitterness was heavily laced into his voice, and he refused to make eye contact as he tore out a handful of grass.

"But he allowed you to stay!" I argued, eyes narrowing slightly. I wasn't mad at Loki, but ever since leaving Odin, I felt a constant annoyance towards his actions. I couldn't fathom why he thought using the Tesseract as an act of war would be a better plan than simply returning the child to Laufey. Innocent lives would be spared, without the darkness of death clouding over any group of people.

"I believe that he didn't want his son to come so close to a battle, still so early in his youth." Another handful of grass, which tumbled out of his hand with a passing breeze.

I knew that I was older than the two princes, not by much, but by enough that there was a gap in our supposed capabilities. But as I opened my mouth to speak, Loki interrupted, changing the subject abruptly.

"Odin loves Thor more than myself."

The statement was rushed out, and as I looked at Loki in surprised, he only glared at the ground with a stiff anger. It was as if he had been bursting to say it, but kept it locked inside for so long it physically pained him to speak it out loud. "Why do you think so?" I asked softly, still studying him with concern.

Loki met my gaze with cold eyes. "He sent me to war, while Thor was to be kept safe behind the palace gates. I am younger than my brother, why else would I be told to come?"

I reached out and grabbed Loki's hand with both of my own from where they were sitting in his lap. "I asked my father explicitly to have you to come assist me. Besides myself, you also have Alpha's confidence. I wanted you on my side."

Loki broke eye contact with me, his posture sagging to the ground with a resolute sadness. "You do not see the things I do, Asariel. Thor is the favored son."

"Not to me, not to Alpha. Why else do you think she would give you something so precious as an Infinity Stone?" I tried to reassure him, still holding both of his hands. "And you have kept it safe for so long. She has every reason to trust you, and Odin should too. And if he doesn't, that just shows how his judgement can be terribly skewed."

Loki did not answer right away, simply staring into the mist before saying, "I do not wish for Odin to leave Midgard with the Stone."

I was still watching him intently, shifting slightly to face him more directly. "You want to have it yourself?"

Loki shook his head, avoiding my eyes. "I was told to keep it safe from anyone who would use it for anything but an emergency, and that includes the Allfather. If I take it back with me-"

"He will realize you have it," I realized, voice softening drastically.

"It has to stay here, with you." Loki spoke, with a soft conviction in his voice, finally looking back up at me.

"With me?!" My throat tightened, my voice lurching out in a shrill squeak. Loki smirked, finally lifting his eyes with a little more confidence.

"Yes. I cannot take it back with me, and I do not know of anyone else it would be safer with."

"I would be the next person Odin would check with. I can't just... carry it around with me."

"Then we leave it here. Hidden."

I chewed slightly on the inside of my cheek, "Maybe if I called Alpha, we could-"

Loki turned his body to face me, placing a hand on my shoulders. "Asariel, if Alpha could have kept it, she would have."

I looked down at my folded hands, barely moving. My chest was tight, each breath compressing the ribs in my chest.

"The night I was given this, I was sitting in my chambers in the palace. I had given Thor the slip, and I just sat there. You had been gone for It felt like my chest was vibrating, and I was overwhelmed by the miniscule sensations around me. I could not sleep, I just sat there, fully dressed, trying to handle the power magnification Alpha had given me. I more felt than heard Sariel enter, she was armed with a bow and quiver, dressed in complete black leather."

Images flashed in my mind, a woman standing down the hall, arrow drawn and aimed at my nightgown-clad form. Leaving the tactical room of the TMC in Alpha's wake, holding up a portion of a giant shield made of light bouncing away giant boulders from a crumbling mountain, yes, I knew Sariel.

"She introduced herself, and taught me how to control the heightened magic I had been given. She told me Alpha wanted to teach me herself, but if my father had known, he would have refused to send aid to her allies in the Nine Realms. So she had sent Sariel instead, but that was not the only reason she had come." Loki added his other had to my free shoulder. "Sariel only gave me a single charge - to never allow it to be in the possession of those who would try to abuse it. It is supposed to be in hiding here, and the Allfather parading around with in in war after war will attract enemies I fear Asgard and the Nine Realms are not prepared to combat with."

I broke eye contact and stared out into the mist, sending out tendrils of magic. I could feel the soft breaths of the almost ruined town Tonsberg in dormant sleep. The standing wooden homes packed with more people than practical radiated living strength, the entire planet hustling with vibrations. My charge was simple, watch and take care of this world. The same charge eight others had been given in eight other realms. If Odin posed a potential threat, it wouldn't be to just my mission, but to everyone else's, and countless other lives. The damage would be much greater than Tonsberg. It was crazy, almost stupidly impulsive.

I looked Loki straight in the face, squaring my shoulders, and nodded. Loki followed me down to the wrecked town, ripping our boots through the tall dry grasses.

"I'm going to talk to the Chief, you get as many craftsmen up as possible to help."

Loki nodded as the two of us came to a stop to climb through the tangle of wood debris that made a last-moment barricade to the city. I ran down the beaten earth path, my feet falling unevenly on the imperfections of the road, something I had long since become accustomed to after the pristine smooth terrain of Asgard.

_Are you done?_

_Almost, I'm trying._

_Try faster, Odin's almost done._

Getting the stone back was going to be the hard part, and we needed to be ready to hide it once we had it.

"Miss Asariel!" I opened my eyes to see one of the stone workers step out of the wood and stone church. "I expect only a moment or two left before construction will be complete."

I closed my eyes again, _Just a moment Loki, we will be ready_

_The battle is ending, it will not be long._

Loki opened his eyes to be bitten by the cold snowy planet to which they had chased the Frost Giants. Taking a deep breath, Loki stepped into the cold front hall, footsteps echoing. General Hardstriker was holding the Tesseract in his hand, casting a bright blue to where Odin was looking at the small frost giant in his arms through his one remaining eye.

Lafuey was held back by a collection of Asgardian warriors, snapping and snarling to get to the baby. "That is my son!" He shrieked. "You have already taken one from me, what can you gain from the other?!"

Odin looked up at Loki with smile lines around his eyes. "My son. This is the last payment that must be made."

"Father, in the ending of this battle, I must regain the Infinity Stone entrusted to me."

Odin looked at him with cold eyes. "That Infinity Stone is not yours. It belongs-"

"To Alpha Legend."

Odin's look was hard and cold. "You want the Tesseract back? You will kill this child. For the glory of Asgard."

Loki's eyes met with the baby's, who was thoroughly calm and smiling. He did not work for the glory of Asgard, but swore what seemed like eons ago to work for Alpha, for she and Asariel loved him more than his father ever would. Staring into the baby's eyes, he knew Alpha and Asariel would both love this baby the same.

Loki eyed the Tesseract in General Hardstriker's grip, glowing a soft blue.

And painted the floor red.


	8. Part 2 - New York

Time is truly a remarkable thing. Humans live in a single lifetime, which itself stretched and morphed over generations. For me, I watched as humanity grew, developing and interacting with each other on a global scale. As the world slowly became smaller, I found it easier and easier to slip into a life, establishing myself for several years before disappearing and repeating the process.

At first, I was consumed with worry about the Tesseract. Loki had returned only for a few minutes, where I was standing outside that small church. He refused to meet my gaze at first, silently holding out the Tesseract. I tackled him in a hug, throwing my arms around his neck as he stumbled back, laughing before returning the gesture. We walked into the church, hand in hand, and tucked the Tesseract into a small box, fitting it into the intricate carving set into the wall. It was promised to be hidden. It was promised to be safe.

That goodbye held so much more victory than the first, and so much promise for my own future.

Time passed, but its effects reached out far more than life and death. I watched as legacies passed down, each one being further explored until something beautiful emerged as a result. Other times, I watched as humanity tore itself apart, wars being fought that I had no place in.

More than anything, however, I enjoyed interacting with life. I spent far more time in Wakanda for the first several hundred years on Earth, adventuring out for short periods of time before returning. However, as time went on, I found myself moving from country to country, my visits to Wakanda becoming less and less frequent until they stopped altogether. I saw the ages pass, full of varying fashion and lifestyles surrounding the people. I watched as America fought for its freedom, indulged in the Victorian luxuries in the heart of England. I saw the rise and fall of empires, traveling with a shadowy past and bright eyes throughout the world, only stopping to catch my breath before moving on.

Despite everything the world had to offer, I couldn't help but be astounded by America. I would never say it was the most extravagant, or even the most beautiful country. Not by any means. But it held so much life, so much promise, in its people.

It was after the Civil War that I found myself spending more and more time in America. That, beyond anything I had seen before, was what truly showed humanity. A group of people who saw something they believed in and fought against oppression, despite knowing it would be easier to just comply. And I fell in love with it.


	9. Chapter7

New York was easily my favorite place I'd ever visited in all my time on Earth.

The thing that made it so unique, so incredible to me was it's sense of progression. And not like Wakanda, where technology and knowledge was almost easy to get, and where everything was designed to be perfect; no, New York was the raw struggle to push forward. To be better than they were, which was never a very pretty path. And yet, I loved every second I was there. What was truly fascinating to me was how far people were willing to both rebel and conform to the standards set at a time. New York in the 20's was full of pushing the limits, of secrets and prosperity, where it seemed anyone can do anything. Then, everything changed when the stock market crashed. Suddenly, the goal wasn't to break through the limits; it essentially came down to surviving.

The beauty in the downfall was how the people reacted in a time of despair. Despite the struggles people faced, they suddenly realized the importance of what they did have. And the secrets turned into trust, prosperity to perseverance. Where even the smallest bits of happiness were enough.

That was what was buzzing through my head as I walked along Coney Island Beach, watching the flock of tourists, couples, and children shrieking in delight in the water and sand. It was so easy to lose yourself to the colors and scents that were swirling in the air, ranging from the salt of the sea to the smallest traces of churros coming from the fairgrounds. I had taken my shoes off, some strappy sandals that had only flung sand up my legs, and they hung from my loose grip. It was an incredibly lazy Thursday afternoon, the kind where it was too warm to stay in my small apartment, even with the windows opened. Instead, I decided to wander the streets of Brooklyn, eventually finding myself walking towards the large ferris wheel that marked Coney Island. It was a spur of the moment decision, something I thought would simply pass time until the sun fell. Instead, it led me down the single best and worst path of my entire life.

"I'm so sorry, I swear I didn't mean for that to happen," I heard someone say, though it sounded like he was fighting back a smile. I glanced towards the entrance to the Cyclone, where a pair of boys were standing near a trash can. Or, should I say, one was doubled over it, his skinny frame clutching onto the sides with whitened knuckles.

"Oh, shut up," the boy groaned, his face completely white before it ducked into the trash can again. The other boy, far taller with neatly combed brown hair, didn't bother holding back a smile as he gave the smaller boy's shoulder a friendly pat.

"Gladly. But seriously, you're gonna pay for the food next time if you plan on just throwing it back up thirty minutes later," the boy joked, and the other one cracked a crooked smile.

I was finally passing close by the pair, and the taller one glanced up before flashing a wide smile at me. "Afternoon, miss!" he called, shifting as if in an attempt to block the blond boy, who was still very much ill in the trash can.

I smiled back. "Is he alright?" I asked, directing my course to intercept them. As I approached, the blond boy jerked upwards, his cheeks and ears tinged the slightest shade of pink.

"I'm alright," he said hurriedly, giving a small smile as if to reassure me. The taller one laughed, slinging an arm around him. The boy glared at him before his eyes lit up. "You can totally blame him, though. He was the one who forced me onto that dumb ride."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" I mused, crossing my arms lightly. "In that case, I suppose I should avoid him at all costs, right?"

"I think that might be a little drastic," the taller one interjected, his elbow jamming into the other's arm as if in warning. I held back a smile, and he opened his mouth to continue before I cut him off.

"It was a pleasure, and I'm glad you're alright, but I really should be going."

"Where to?" The brown haired boy grinned, taking an exaggerated step forward until he was walking in line with me. Steve trailed behind, though he didn't look too upset at that fact.

I scoffed. "I'm not particularly picky. As long as a pair of no-good, troublesome, and slightly invasive brothers aren't there. You are brothers, yes?" I noticed the boy's head shoot up as I was speaking, and he cracked a grin before shaking his head.

"No, not brothers. Might as well be though."He leaned backwards slightly, throwing an arm around Steve's shoulders and dragging him in line with us. "And I'm way better looking anyway."

"Mm," I hummed, shaking my head. "I'm sure every lady falls head over heels for that line."

"You'd be surprised," Steve cut in, once again trying to flatten his hair. "Personally, I think he's just too full of himself to even see properly."

I held back a laugh as he glared at Steve. "Anyways," he enunciated, once again grinning at me. "I'm Bucky. Bucky Barnes."

"It's James," Steve whispered, a smile tugging on his lips. "Just call him that, it annoys him."

I smiled fully at the blond boy, which he returned almost immediately. "Nice to meet you, James," I quipped, watching as his hand gripped Steve's shoulder slightly tighter. "I… should be on my way."

Bucky sighed before stepping in front of me. "You won't even give me a name? Anything?"

I tilted my head to the side, contemplating it for a moment. "It's Asariel."

"Asariel?" He made a show of making a face. "That's a weird name."

"And that is quite rude."

"I'm just saying," he held up his hands, once again smiling. "It's nice. But weird."

"You're trying awfully hard to keep up a conversation," I smirked, trying to sidestep past Bucky. "And I'm only playing along because there is a large chance I am never going to see you again. So if you will excuse me–"

"Aw, come on. There's a diner right around the corner. We can get milkshakes, dance if you want. I'll make it worth your time," Bucky insisted, tilting his head down slightly. "Promise."

"I'm okay, thank you. I'm flattered, though," I shrugged him off, though I had stopped trying to move past him. "Besides, I'm sure Steve would be lonely."

"I'm used to it," he muttered, shrugging lopsidedly.

"Fine. Well I'll still escort you through the city. Show you all the sights," Bucky decided, nodding firmly before turning around.

"No need. I've lived here all my life." A lie, though I had lived in New York for long enough. "Thank you."

"No you haven't. You have an accent," Bucky pointed out, and I looked at him questioningly. "It's not obvious, so while you haven't lived here your whole life, it's been a long time. Maybe British? Something like that."

I was slightly impressed. "Fair enough. Even then, I know the area."

"Even then, you haven't known the area until you have me as a tour guide. And it doesn't even have to be a date. Just consider it a friendly act from someone you met off the street," Bucky grinned, holding out an arm. I eyed him, amused, before smiling and linking arms with Steve.

"You can tag along, if you'd like," I chirped at Bucky, smiling at Steve's rather shocked expression. Bucky, on the other hand, looked almost impressed, and only shrugged.

"Fine by me. I'd get to spend my afternoon with both my best friend and a beautiful dame."

I rolled my eyes, though felt my cheeks grow warm nonetheless.

Steve seemed flustered, his arm stiffened in my own, though he didn't seem to have any much trouble navigating the streets of the city. However, both he and Bucky seemed to easily flow off of each other's thoughts, the two of them effortlessly giving off random facts about each area. Not any normal facts, or even any normal areas for that matter. Instead, they seemed to drag me along to the places with 'most importance'.

"Now this place," Bucky announced, waving to what looked like a mediocre diner named 'Tom's' with a flourish, "Is the single best place for milkshakes in all of Brooklyn. If you think otherwise, I may need to walk away right now because we would never be able to speak to each other again."

"And that would be so terrible," I joked, finding it easier and easier to relax in the company of these two.

"It would. Because how else would I be able to take you for dinner? It'd be a shame, for sure," Bucky replied easily, nodding appreciatively at the building.

"Oh, I--" I started, feeling my cheeks warm once more, before Steve interrupted.

"This is also a great place, because other than most other places we've been, I haven't gotten into some brawl with someone here," Steve said brightly, matting down his hair with his free hand. Bucky made a face, turning to the smaller boy.

"No, you did. With, ah… what's his name? With the gap in his teeth?"

Steve shot him a questioning look before it melted off into one of recognition. "Oh yeah. Hanson."

Bucky snapped his fingers. "That's the one."

"I see. And why exactly is it you get into so many fights?" I asked, mostly because the thought had been nagging at me since the first alley we had stopped at.

"He's way too dumb to back away from a fight. He's like a… a chiwawa. Too much aggression shoved into too small of a body," Bucky joked, ignoring the elbow that Steve jabbed into his side. "In all honesty, he had good intentions. He just doesn't know what to do with 'em."

I raised an eyebrow. "You aren't exactly helping your case," I laughed lightly. "But I will admit, this is not what I expected when I was told I was getting a tour of the city."

Bucky beamed, while Steve's ears and cheeks flushed a pale pink.

It was so easy to talk to these boys. And a part of me immediately shied away from that, knowing that I'd need to disappear in a few years, knowing I couldn't ever forgive myself for disappearing and never seeing them again if it came down to it. And it always came down to that. It was my life, to live somewhere for a time before wiping myself off the map, relocating and starting the cycle again. It was exhausting. It was paranoid. It was safe.

And suddenly, with an hour long trek through the streets of Brooklyn with a couple of rag tag kids, I didn't want to be alone. At least not for the few years I'd be here.

Steve was rambling again, his arm finally relaxed in mine, and I could only smile, making a silent vow to myself.

I wouldn't be alone this time.

~*~

"Well, whaddya know!" A voice shouted above the babble of people, and I tilted my face down to hide the pleased smile that threatened to crack along my face. "It's the mystery girl!"

I glanced over, thoroughly happy to see the pair suddenly pushing their way towards me. It'd been almost a month since that tour, a month where I couldn't help but hope I'd run into them again. Despite the initial surge of hope I had felt at the idea of making actual friends, I desperately talked myself out of it. After all, it was a reckless and selfish thing to do, especially as I had done well living the way I had before. But… I couldn't help myself. And I compromised. If I happened to run into them again, if fate would have it, I'd give in. If not, I'd never think of them again. So when Bucky's grinning face shone distantly among the gaggle of people in the park, his hand waving in a friendly manner as Steve's head bobbed by his shoulder, I felt a warmth spread across my chest, and waved back.

I shifted slightly, straightening but not standing from the blanket I had laid out on the grass of the park I had wandered into. As the two approached, I gave them a lazy smile, though I wasn't sure what to say. As it turned out, it wasn't much, as Steve plopped down next to me as if he had done it a million times before.

"Please, please tell him to shut up," he groaned, tucking his face between his knees. "He won't stop pestering me about whether or not he completely ruined his chances with you."

I raised an eyebrow. "Oh, really?" I asked, smirking up as Bucky shrugged.

"What can I say. You ruined me."

"I'm sure. Here, if you can say my name, right now, I'll let you take me to dinner."

Bucky's cheeks tinged pink, and he rubbed the back of his neck as Steve snickered. "It started with an A? Aaaaaaaa… nna?" I shook my head, and he shrugged. "What is it."

"Asariel," I smiled, and once again, he made a face.

"First of all, I got the A name right. Second of all, seriously, who named you that?" Bucky demanded, sitting down in front of me and wrapping his arms around his knees. "It sounds like some mythical entity who probably cursed someone at least once in their lifetime."

"I will take that as a compliment."

"Whatever. I'm calling you Asa," he said pointedly, smiling as pride filled his entire face. "That's much better."

"But it's not my name!" I argued, feeling my face warm.

"I like nicknames. And for the record, I think it suits you." He glanced at me. "So what were you doing before we bestowed yourself with our presence, Asa?"

I shook my head, though a smile still tugged at the corners of my mouth. "I was reading." I nodded to the abandoned book on my lap. "And I like being outdoors, so I figured sitting in the park would be worth my time."

"Fair enough."

"How've you two been?"

"Honestly?" Bucky stretched out, crossing his ankles and leaning back onto his palms. "I've been okay. Busy, but good."

Steve chimed in, rolling his eyes good naturedly. "Busy schmizzy. I've finally bought some good art supplies, which is pretty much all I've been doing for the last week."

I raised my eyebrows. "You draw?"

"Sure," he shrugged, crossing his legs next to me. "And paint. I'm not amazing at it though."

"I don't believe that for a second," I grinned. "You are definitely a prodigy, I can tell by looking at you."

"Oh he is," Bucky nodded, and Steve flushed pink. "It's amazing. Hey, you should stop by our place. Steve can show you some of it."

"Oh, no no no," Steve yelped, his hands twisting with the twine tied around his shoe. I caught a glimpse of an old newspaper through the worn out sole, and I felt a frown twitch down the corners of my lips. "She doesn't–"

"Not to mention, it gives me an excuse to get special treatment from Mrs. Daley," he interrupted, sending a pointed glare at the smaller boy, who only seemed to swell with defiance. "She loves company."

"Mrs. Daley?" I asked, curiosity piqued despite a hesitance settling over my shoulders.

"Our landlady," Steve grumbled. "She's really nice, but she's known me too long. Old friends with my… with my dad."

I opened my mouth before snapping it closed, and I knew it was a heavy topic. Bucky a eyes had dropped to his lap, his fingers digging slightly into the grass as Steve swallowed.

"If you don't want me to go, I won't," I said slowly, watching as Steve's shoulders loosened slightly, his eyes softening.

"No, it's okay. I just don't want your expectations to be too high, it's not all that great. Not a bad idea about Mrs. Daley, though, eh Buck?" Steve joked, his hand travelling up to his head to flatten his hair yet again.

That's how our story began. An introduction on the street, a tour of a city I already knew, and total, chaotic chance. Little did I know how much those two kids from Brooklyn would change my life, just how much I changed for them. Little did I know that that shabby apartment, with its cracked mirror on the wall and the dirty window, with the pile of torn up shoes in the entryway and the scraps of papers with doodles and paintings alike pinned up on the walls like priceless monuments, and with scrawls of poetry written in a messy hand that lay curled up on the dingy table, that it was there I felt more at home than I had ever felt since leaving Asgard. Because that beginning would spiral into so much more, a story beyond anything I thought would be possible on the tiny, insignificant planet I loved so dearly.

It began with a boy who wanted to prove himself in a world that told him he couldn't, with another who hid his heart that was too big for its own good behind a flirty wink and a smile, and with a girl who only wanted to find home in a life where she didn't have one. And this ragtag group of us, born of a coincidence and new art supplies, went on to change the world.


	10. Chapter 8 - Fight Club

"Asa!"

I turned instinctively, already knowing who to expect but nonetheless being surprised to see the two there. We had known each other for a couple of months at this point, and spent plenty of time in one another's company. They were good friends, and easy to be with. I saw that Bucky and Steve were walking swiftly to catch up with me, and I quickly stepped off to the side of the street before taking a moment to properly examine them. "Woah, what happened?" I demanded, startled as they slowed to stand next to me.

Steve was glaring at the ground, his blue eyes wide and still clouded with a distant anger. The left side of his face was swollen, a purple bruise sprouting from his cheekbone and his nose bleeding heavily. Everything about him seemed tense, from the way his jaw was set to the way his shoulders were hunched in an almost defensive way. Bucky, on the other hand, wore a vaguely annoyed expression, his hand clamped around the smaller boy's arm as if to prevent him from escaping. His lip and cheekbone were cut open, a smear of crimson on his right cheek, and his fists seemed bruised, but he looked in relatively better shape.

Steve opened his mouth to answer, his eyes like fire, but the other beat him to it. "We're fine. Steve here," he shot him a glare, "just can't stay out of trouble for more than five minutes."

"They started it," Steve grumbled, jerking his arm out of Bucky's grasp and hunching his shoulders, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Steve, literally every single one of them were twice your size," Bucky shot back, his voice stern but his eyes soft. He turned to me, sighing heavily. "He got in another fist fight. With four guys, no less. And would you like to tell her why?" He turned to Steve at that question, whose chest seemed to swell with defiant anger.

"They kept hollering at some girls!" He hissed, glaring at the ground. "Wouldn't leave them alone! So I told them to scram, and they wouldn't let up, and I punched the closest guy and things just… escalated from there."

"Where were you when all this happened?" I asked pointedly, turning to Bucky and jamming a finger at his chest.

"_I_ was minding my own business, and have had the unfortunate habit of assuming most street fights involve this punk anymore," Bucky kicked at Steve's leg, who retorted by jamming his elbow into his side. I rolled my eyes.

"You two are actual children," I sighed, shaking my head. They both opened their mouths to argue, but I ignored them. "Don't even start. Let's just… get you two cleaned up, alright?" More grumbling from the two of them, half-hearted glares and slumped shoulders as they began to shuffle forward. I hooked arms with the both of them, forcing a bright smile on my face and an exaggerated skip to my step. "Look alive, gentlemen!"

"You're going the wrong way," Bucky sighed, clearly still irritated.

"Wrong," I shot back, growing more and more amused as my two companions shot each other a glance. "Oh, good to see you won't tear each other's throats out now." As if on cue, they threw a halfhearted glare at me. "We're going to _my_ apartment. I happen to know the way."

About ten minutes later, we walked inside my own small apartment, myself tucking my hair behind my ear as I moved to get a cloth. Bucky let out a low whistle, glancing around.

"Why do you bother with our place? This is _nice_."

I smiled a bit, eyes darting around the room. I did like my apartment, even if it was small. There were large windows on the left wall, allowing sunlight to pool inside, a door leading to the bedroom and a wall dividing the living space from the kitchen. Steve plopped himself down on an armchair, eyebrows still low over his eyes, but giving a nod of agreement.

"I like your apartment," I admitted, shrugging crookedly. "It's cute."

Now, Steve cracked a smile. "Yep, sure is, I love our _cute _apartment!"

Bucky scowled. "Whatever."

I smirked, moving to sit in front of Steve. "Come here, let me see your face." He obliged, and I examined it. "Let's put some ice on that eye. And for the record," I leaned in, as if sharing a secret. "I think what you did was right. And you did hold up well, from the looks of it. But don't bite off more than you can chew, alright? Know when to step down."

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled, accepting the damp washcloth I handed him and wiping gingerly at his nose.

"Where'd you learn to fight anyway?" I asked, leaning against the wall with my arms crossed.

"That jerk over there," Steve said, tilting his head towards Bucky, who was bending to stare out the window before responding.

"You're welcome, too, punk."

"In that case, I see why you took such a beating," I teased, and Steve let out a surprised laugh, the kind that scraped against the back of the throat in a sharp bark. Bucky on the other hand, turned to look at me, vaguely entertained but also a little defensive.

"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, eyebrow cocked up. I shrugged.

"I could take you in a fight."

"Yeah, I'm sure you've gotten into plenty of fights, England," he laughed lightly, shaking his head.

"Not England," I shot back, still amused that he hung onto what little accent I might have had. "And you might be surprised."

"Oh?" A smile pulled up on his mouth, and Steve leaned forward in his seat. "Okay. Okay, then, how about you try to hit me."

"Really?" I raised an eyebrow, shaking my head before pushing off the wall. "Fine. If you need to satisfy your ego so badly."

He stepped to the middle of the room, and I followed suit. He made a show of getting into stance, tilting his head at me as I held back a smile. "I'll go easy on you, alright, England?"

"Please don't, you'll embarrass yourself."

"I'm just sayin– Hnnfh!"

He stumbled back a step, hand clamped over his nose, where my palm had connected a split second before. Steve let out a solid laugh, and Bucky removed his hand to examine the blood smeared on it.

"Oh no, I'm sorry!" I clasped my hands over my mouth, genuinely guilty I had actually hurt him. I hadn't realized that no matter how solid he was, Bucky was much more fragile than some of my other opponents. Bucky just grinned, shock fading to an impressed shrug.

"Honestly caught me by surprise," he chuckled, wiping at his nose again. "I'll keep in mind never to underestimate you again, huh Steve?"

"Oh, I never did. That's all you," Steve smirked, looking far too pleased at what just happened.

"That's why I like him better," I laughed, grabbing at Bucky's chin to inspect his nose. He just smirked, head tilted down towards me and crimson smeared beneath his nose. "I don't think it's broken. I'm not exactly a doctor, but you'll survive. Both of you."

"Are you sure?" Bucky asked, widening his eyes with faux fear. "I think I might be bleeding out!"

"Oh, shut up, I didn't need to take you here at all."

The next few hours were admittedly pleasant, jokes and laughter interwoven between conversation until the sun began to set, whatever argument or tensions having long since dissipated. We continued having short sparring matches, throwing punches in slow motion and having the other block them and vice versa. It was nice, strangely familiar to the life I had in Asgard. At the end of the night, we all climbed to the roof of my building, a place that was impossible to get to unless you didn't mind breaking the rules, which none of us really did. So we sat on the edge of the rooftop, not daring to lean forward too far, and watched the city fall into night.

"Y'know, Ace," Bucky remarked, leaning back so his chin rested on his chest in order to look ahead. "I really have no clue why you agreed to talk with us. Back when we met."

I smiled a bit, glancing at him sideways. "Another nickname?"

"I'm serious!" He pressed, laughing lightly with his eyes fixed on the skyline ahead of us. My smile faded slightly, and I shrugged.

"I liked you guys. Still do."

To my surprise, Bucky's cheeks and ears began to flush, crimson tinging his skin. Steve, on the other hand, huffed out a laugh, shifting to cross his legs in front of him. "I like ya, too, Asa. Him on the other hand?" He pulled a face. "Meh."

"Oh, shut up, you both know you love me."

We laughed, still staring out at the city. "If you could go anywhere in the world," Bucky suddenly chimed in, something in his eyes distant. "Where'd you go?"

"Well that came out of nowhere," I teased, sitting up and resting my elbows in my knees.

"Well I'm curious," he defended himself, laughing lightly. "Shame on me for trying to learn more about you."

"Okay, okay." I hummed in thought, already knowing I had probably been to most of the stereotypical choices. Then, I shrugged. "Up there." I pointed up at the sky, where the stars shine down on us. Bucky looked surprised.

"Why?"

"Why not?" I asked, smiling as he rolled his eyes. "There's a lot out there. We're incredibly small in the eyes of the universe. I think that's pretty neat."

"That's terrifying," Steve countered, wrinkling his nose.

"No, I agree with Steve," Bucky said, and I threw my hands in the air, earning myself a laugh from my companions.

"Well where'd you go?"

"Probably Paris," Bucky admitted after some thought, sitting up in turn. "I think the food there would be good."

"Ireland." As the two of us turned to look at Steve, he shrugged. "It's where my parents were from."

"In my defense, I think my answer was much more interesting," I stated, smirking as they objected loudly.

"Well where are you even from, if not England?" Steve joked half-heartedly, though Bucky seemed to perk up.

"Alright, if you want a life story, I can give you one," I joked, sitting back once more. "Hi, my name's Asariel. Summers." Back when I first came to Earth, I realized I needed a last name. The first thing I thought of was something my father used to tell me as child, saying my hair was like the sun on a summer's day. I figured it was as good of a name as any. "I was adopted by my father, actually. And I grew up kind of in the middle of nowhere." I thought for a moment before smirking. "You could say in Norway."

"Ah ha!" Bucky exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. "So you do have an accent!"

"I wouldn't say that! I spent far more time here than I did there." Bucky rolled his eyes, but motioned for me to continue. "I left when I was really young. And yes, I miss it, a lot. But I love it here."

"You were adopted?" Steve asked, sounding surprised. "I didn't know that."

"Well I don't really know who my biological parents are. My father is my real family anyway, I don't see it as something that sets me apart from anyone else," I shrugged.

"I know how that feels," Steve nodded, glancing over at Bucky, who gave a small smile in return. Then, he shivered slightly, pushing himself off the ground to stretch. "I'm going to head inside. Are we gonna crash on the couch or are you kicking us out?"

"The couch is open if you want it," I answered, glancing over my shoulder. "Just make sure the front door is locked, alright?"

"Got it," he said, swinging his leg around the clambering back down to my window.

Bucky and I sat in relative silence, a peaceful ambience buzzing in the background. "Thank you," he suddenly said, his voice soft as he glanced at me. I looked at him in return, eyebrows pinched together.

"For what?"

He sighed, eyes distant as he stared at the skyline, his hair falling into his eyes. "Steve. His life isn't exactly the smoothest. His health isn't the best, it's a big scare when it acts up. I don't think the doctors even expected him to survive into adulthood." He paused, and I felt something settle into the pit of my stomach. "The point is, he wants to prove himself. To prove he's worth something, I think. And most people don't like that. It's the reason he gets into so many fights, and that's on a good day. But you never even considered looking at him as less, not from the moment we met. So yeah, thank you."

"I didn't know about his health," I muttered, heart heavy. "That must be awful."

"Hate to say it, but you'll probably see it yourself if ya stick around," he chuckled, though his knuckles whitened as he folded his arms. "He's tough. And he likes you, a lot."

"I like him, too," I smiled. "I meant what I said, earlier."

"I have no doubt about that," he answered, looking at me with an earnest smile. "I'm going to head inside. It's late." He stood up, brushing off his pants before offering a hand to me. I took it, and he helped me to my feet. Then, he glanced up. "It is beautiful, as terrifying as it is."

I felt my mouth curve to a smile, looking up alongside him. Memories flew across my mind. "Well, I think all the best things are."


	11. Chapter 9 Sneeka Peeka AKA Odin SUUUUcks

Winter had fallen, snow covering most surfaces in sight. I was on the sofa in the boy's apartment, sitting cross-legged and trying to sketch on a spare piece of paper Steve lent me. By all accounts it was horrible, but I was thoroughly enjoying myself all the same. Steve walked over to me, glancing over my shoulder before letting out a chuckle. I stuck my tongue out at him, and he dropped onto the couch himself.

"You feeling better?" I asked, setting down the pencil as Steve wrinkled his nose. He had been bedridden the last week, after catching some illness that was worsened as his asthma flared up. He pushed through it, but I could tell the strain that had settled over both him and Bucky as the week pushed on.

"I'm fine. Always am."

"Alright," I said softly, nodding a bit as his jaw tightened, clearly not wanting to settle on the subject. Lucky for me, there was a knock at the door, and I stood up to answer it.

It took me a second to register that I recognized who was in front of me, shoulders dusted with snow and a huge smile on his face.

"_Loki?_" I breathed, feeling my eyes light up and my heart lift in my chest.

"Hi, Asariel," he answered, voice soft.

I glanced behind me, confirming that Steve was paying no attention before stepping outside and closing the door. Then, I threw my arms around his neck, laughing happily as he hugged me back.

"It's good to see you," he grinned, pulling back to study me. "I have to say, if I didn't know better I would think you were human. You blend right in!"

"You didn't do so bad yourself," I teased, chuckling as a blush settles over his features. Indeed, he had made sure to blend in, though I couldn't tell if it was just an illusion or not. White buttoned shirt, a black coat, and a hint of green that was his scarf. "How'd you find me?"

"Heimdall helped me out. Made me promise not to make a scene, though," he shrugged, his skinny face clearly delighted. "Anyway, I wanted to see you! Thor would have come, but I'm pretty sure he's off drinking or whatever he does anymore."

I shook my head, corners of my mouth curled upwards. "How is he? How's Asgard?"

Loki shrugged again, putting his hands in his pockets. "Good, and good. Thor is now quite the hero, though. Odin gave him Mjolnir."

I raised an eyebrow. "Impressive, honestly. And Heimdall?"

"Misses you every day, as do I. But he's okay," he answered, leaning against the small banister on my left. "But honestly, you have an _accent_ now. Do I sound strange to you?"

"You sound like you," I assured him, and he made a show of acting relieved, wiping his forehead with a sigh. But something was bothering me, which I couldn't place right away. His shoulders had a stiffness to them, and though he was smiling and joking, it felt like part of it was forced. "Why are you here?"

The smile slipped off his face slightly, and he gave a lopsided shrug. "It's a bit of a story. Odin… well, my father has banned any travelling to this realm. He won't explain why. He's never liked others coming here, not since the Frost Giant invasion way back when. He has said that only in cases of war or banishment will Midgard be open to Asgardians again."

I felt my face fall, my eyebrows drawing together as my chest tightened. "He… what? Why?" Loki shook his head.

"I wish I could say."

A thought came to me, dark and oppressive, worming into my head. "What about me? Will I… will I ever be able to come back to Asgard? See my family?"

If possible, Loki's face darkened more, and he shook his head. "He has never liked the Legends. To my knowledge, he believes you forsaked Asgard when you left with Alpha. He banished all who left to any realm, including you. If he knew about me… I'm not sure what he would do, honestly."

I felt something drop to the pit of my stomach, a horrible burning creeping up my throat. Tears has sprung to my eyes, though I blinked them away hurriedly, taking a shaky breath. "So this is a goodbye, then?"

"Hey," he muttered gently, reaching out to grasp my hands. "Not a goodbye. You know as well as I do we can still talk, anytime you'd like. I just wanted to see you."

I nodded, closing my eyes. I loved Earth, loved being here and watching it grow. But, despite having lived here the majority of my life, I always thought of Asgard as home. A constant safety, where I might have returned to if my task here came to an end. Now, it seemed unreachable.

"This place seems… lovely," Loki suddenly muttered, a forced sort of contemplation on his face as he glanced around. A laugh bubbled out of my chest, so violently it was obvious I want expecting it. His mouth twitched upwards in response.

"Okay Mr. Prince-of-Asgard, some people live normal lives."

"Well, I think a normal life here is very different from my normal life," Loki teased, seeming to try to sink back into that eased atmosphere that had so violently left. "Something tells me things like sword training aren't that common."

"You're not wrong." I hesitated, absentmindedly chewing my lip as I thought. "If you wanted, I could show you a bit of normal life? While you're here, at least. I mean, it won't be much, especially since it's the winter, so most of the best activities are probably off the table, but—"

"Asariel," Loki cut me off, shaking his head with a laugh. "That's the reason I came here. To spend time with you, especially because we haven't ever had the chance."

I smiled bashfully before crossing my arms, holding them close to my body. "Okay, I'm going to run inside, get some proper clothes on. Give me five minutes, tops."

"I can come inside, if you want—"

"No!" I blurted out, hand flying out to block him from moving. Loki raised an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side. "No, it's kind of a mess in there, you really don't want to see that," I laughed nervously, trying to cover up my outburst. "I promise it won't take long."

"If you insist," Loki said, clearly bemused.

I opened the door and slid inside, quickly closing it before holding back a groan.

"Who's that?" Steve muttered, clearly only paying little attention as he sat hunched over the same failed piece of artwork I had previously been working on.

"No one," I responded quickly, shaking my head. "An old friend," I amended, after he rolled his eyes at me. "Haven't seen him in years, we're gonna catch up."

At that, he perked up, chin tilting towards me. "Want some company?"

I felt building panic I couldn't quite explain building in the pit of my stomach. I knew nothing would happen if the two of them met, Loki knew better than to give away my secret. But there was still the ever looming presence of that secret, and Loki being there would only be a constant nagging reminder than Steve had no idea who I really was.

"Thanks, Steve, but no. Partly because I'm kinda worried about how cold it is, and you're still getting through your cold…"

Steve's face fell, and he muttered something under his breath that sounded something like, "It's not my fault it messes with my lungs."

"I'll make dinner tonight?"

Now, Steve cracked a smile, which he quickly tried to stifle. "Bucky's a better cook than you."

"Take it or leave it," I called to him over my shoulder, shrugging on the coat I had worn over to their place and pulling on my shoes. I turned to the mirror on the wall, combing through my hair with my fingers to try to tame it before braiding it. I absentmindedly glanced at the drawing before sighing dramatically. "That's totally not fair, by the way," I grumbled, tapping the paper that had been vastly improved, if only with a few alterations.

"Yeah, yeah, go have fun," Steve chuckled, lightly elbowing my ribs as I made a face at him.

I slipped back outside, immediately bouncing forward to stand next to Loki with a grin. Already, the cold began to creep back in, harsher against the relative warmth of the apartment. Despite that, he immediately took off the scarf wrapped around his neck, instead looping it around my own.

"Lead the way," he smiled, holding out an arm. I looped mine in his, a smile of my own dominating my face, and the two of us began to walk towards the city.

"They don't even have magic," Loki muttered, eyes wide as we looked up at the Empire State Building.

"You'd be less impressed if you saw the mess of traffic it made," I joked, staring fondly at the building. "They finished it a couple years ago."

"Who were you talking to inside your home?" Loki asked, a sudden jerk away from the previous topic. I sat with my mouth opened dumbly, blinking as he chuckled. "I could hear you, I was only just outside."

"Oh," I mumbled, hands tugging at the ends of the emerald scarf.

"I'm guessing whoever it was, he doesn't know you're… not from around here?"

"No," I sighed, starting to walk slowly once more. Loki followed my lead, walking close to me so our shoulders kept bumping into each other. "I have no idea how I would. Besides, I'm probably only going to stick around for a few more years, and then I'll never see them again."

"Oh, there's two?" Loki raised his eyebrows, mouth still curled into a smirk. I rammed into his side, hard, and he stumbled off the sidewalk with a laugh. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but they are your friends?"

"Yeah?"

"Then why are you so afraid of telling them?"

I sighed, fiddling with a strand of my hair as we walked. "Because… I don't to lose them. And I'm afraid if I tell them the truth, they wouldn't believe me, or they would be angry I didn't tell them, or something worse. I've lived a pretty small life here, Loki. I kind of want to keep it that way."

Loki nodded, eyes downcast. He glanced at me, a warmth in his eyes that seemed to soften the edges of the conversation. "Well, you seem to like them. Just don't go replacing me, and I believe everything will work out the way it's supposed to."

I nodded, trying to settle the nausea that had planted in my stomach. "How did my father react to the news?" I asked, once again changing the topic. I expected Loki to continue to try to joke and laugh, but he was clearly far more invested in the situation than I had first realized, instead scowling at the ground.

"More or less the same as myself. He was angry. I believe he threatened treason if Odin weren't to let you come home. Luckily for me, I already have some treason under my belt, being in contact with the Legends as I am. That's partly why he allowed me to come, purely to spite my father."

"Partly?"

Loki nodded, eyes still clouded. "Yes. And partly because he misses you, though I doubt that alone would have led him to going against my father's orders."

I smiled, glancing at the ground. "That does sound like Heimdall."

We walked in silence for several more minutes, snow continuing to fall softly, leaving white powdering both of our shoulder and hair.

"Do you know how strange it is for me to talk about both my life here and in Asgard in one conversation?" I asked, turning to my companion with a grin. "I've never truly done that. It's kind of nice."

"I only wish you could have come home one last time," Loki admitted, shrugging lightly. "Midgard was never meant to be something permanent for you."

"Well…" I started slowly, glancing over my shoulder to the sprawling city we already passed by. "It's not so bad. And in many ways, it is my home now. I think you would like it here, if you ever wanted to commit treason and visit again," I teased, and Loki rolled his eyes with a smirk.

"I remember why I didn't speak with you often," he muttered, keeping on an air of annoyance before the both of us completely broke down into laughter.

As the day turned to dusk, and eventually a cold night, our walk through the city wound to a stop. Despite my coat, I was beginning to shiver, my cheeks and nose burning a bright red, and Loki offered to walk me home.

"I think I'd be walking you," I reminded him, and he shrugged.

"It's the thought that counts."

Indeed, after weaving or way back through the streets of Brooklyn, the two of us found ourselves outside the apartment. We were both clearly hesitant to say goodbye, awkwardly standing there and shuffling our feet before Loki spoke.

"Be sure to talk with me. Every couple months, at least."

I smiled, reaching out and squeezing his hand. "Deal." I paused, chewing on the inside of my cheek absentmindedly. "Tell my father I love him. And miss him. Thor too, while you're at it."

Loki smiled warmly, giving a brief nod. "Of course. Though I doubt either of them need me to tell them so."

I smiled brightly before standing on tiptoe, pulling him down into a hug. "Thank you," I murmured, and he hugged me tightly. "For everything."

"This isn't goodbye," he reminded me, pulling back slightly and setting his hands on my shoulders. "I do intend on seeing you again. Although, is there a better place for me to call for the Bifrost? I'm afraid I frightened a few people half to death earlier," he admitted, shrugging bashfully as I made an incredulous face at him.

"There's an old alley, just down that way," I said, stepping back and pointing down the road. "It's late enough, I doubt many people will be walking this way."

"Thank you, Asariel."

"Oh!" I exclaimed, hands flying to the scarf around my neck. "Your scarf!"

"No, no, keep it," he insisted, shaking his head firmly. "It suits you. Not to mention, it's a little reminder of yours truly."

We gave each other another quick hug. "I'll talk to you soon," I promised, as Loki began to walk away.

"I expect nothing less," he teased, and before long, he had disappeared from my sight. I waited a few moments longer, until I heard a familiar cracking sound, a pillar of light shooting down before retreating back to the clouds in an instant. I smiled softly to myself before turning to the stairs, a slow gait to my steps that seemed to try to soak in the day in as much time as possible.

I approached the door to the apartment, where I was greeted by frenzied yells and the distinct sound of something breaking. I frowned, but curiosity got the better of me, and I slowly pushed the foot open.

Steve and Bucky were staring at the now broken lamp on the floor, Bucky standing on the couch and Steve on the ground below him. They both turned to me with guilty expressions, and my eyes travelled from the pillow clenched in Steve's hand to the other strewn across the broken glass on the floor, and finally settling on the empty-handed Bucky. He grinned at me, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Tough day at work?" He offered, and Steve stifled a giggle. "We wanted to work off some stress."

I shook my head, though I couldn't fight the smile spreading across my face. I slipped off my shoes and coat before carefully stepping over to the bed and picking up a pillow of my own.

"No touching the ground, and Buck, you're buying the new lamp!" I called, and as Steve scrambled up onto the arm of the couch and Bucky began to complain loudly, I realized that despite the life I had left behind, the one I had now was far from inferior.


	12. Chapter 10 - Accidentally Dating

"What do you mean you don't know how to dance?"

I rolled my eyes, looking over at Bucky as he stared at me, clearly flabbergasted. "I _can _dance, just not swing. I just never cared to learn, and never really had a reason to."

Bucky and I were walking through the grocery store, a basket hanging loosely from his grip as I picked up ingredients from the shelf and carefully placed them inside. It was still freezing cold outside, despite the sun shining in a clear sky, so the store was surprisingly empty.

"Okay, fine. I'll teach you," he stated, matter of factly, nodding to himself. "You're coming."

"No!" I protested, laughing lightly before Bucky stepped in front of me.

"Asa." He stared at me, a warning tone in his voice as he widened his eyes. "I'm begging you. On my hands and knees."

"What's so important about this thing anyway?"

Bucky had been talking about some big luncheon and dance being held by the docks, where he had been working for the past while. It was hard work, but he took it when he can, which admittedly wasn't as often as he might have liked. After all, it was better than nothing, and despite the front that the two had put up, it was clear that Steve and Bucky never had much money. Bucky tried to keep up high hopes, even when he would come home sunburnt and dehydrated, his hands blistered and bleeding. Work was even less common during the winter, so Steve had picked up a few odd jobs delivering groceries to some older folks in the apartment complex.

To my surprise, Bucky's cheeks began to redden, and he rubbed at the back of his neck awkwardly. "Okay," he muttered, scrunching up his nose before continuing. "You remember a few weeks ago, when you came over to give me the lunch I forgot?"

"Yeah?" I asked slowly, squinting at him slightly.

"Well, the guys were all pestering me, askin' who you were, and I, uh," he took a breath before rushing the next sentence out, hardly intelligible. "Mighthavesaidweweredating."

I blinked, raising an eyebrow. "What was that?" I asked, still teasing. Bucky grinned.

"I may or may not have told them we were dating," he repeated, before jumping out of the way to avoid me swatting at his arm. "Hey, hey, stop it!" He laughed, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Why would you say that?" I demanded, feeling my own face warm as well.

Bucky shrugged, now looking bashful. "To be honest, they were joking around and asking me if they needed my permission to take you to dinner or anything, and it just sort of slipped out. But they're all thinking we're going to that stupid lunch together, and I'll never hear the end of it if you don't come," he said, clasping his hands together and holding them up to his chin. I sighed, shaking my head lightly.

"When is it?" I asked, and Bucky's mouth curved into a wide grin.

"No, no, listen, you need to relax," Bucky repeated, shaking his shoulders and rolling his head as if to show me how to do so. I sighed, running my hands through my hair before plopping them back in his.

"I still think this is stupid."

"And I think Steve's new tie looks stupid, you don't hear me complaining."

"Rude," Steve called from the bathroom, words muffled by his toothbrush.

We had returned home about an hour earlier. I was still reluctant to pretend to be going through with Bucky's ploy, and he desperately tried to smooth things over. Finally, he had convinced me to try to learn how to swing dance, which was going fairly poorly on my end.

Bucky smirked, turning to look at his friend. "Sorry, bud, didn't mean it." As Steve rolled his eyes, Bucky turned back to me, taking a breath before smiling. "Come on, Ace, I promise it'll be fun."

"Waltzing is fun," I said bitterly, and Bucky glared at me half-heartedly. "I'm serious!"

Bucky now seemed thoroughly amused, shaking his head amiably at me. "How about this. You can teach me to waltz, and I'll teach you to swing. That way we're both doing something we don't want to."

"It's not about the dancing," I told him, embarrassment burning in the pit of my stomach. "I still don't know why you lied to them. I don't want to do this."

Bucky's eyes softened slightly. "Look, you don't have to. Really. I was just trying to turn this into something fun with you, it's not that important at all." I gave him a look, and he shrugged his shoulders before the corner of his mouth twitched up. "Really. I just thought it'd be a good bonding experience. As friends. Because we're friends. And it would have been fun." He was punctuating each sentence with his lower lip poking out, batting his eyes at me. I couldn't help but laugh.

"That's not fair," I told him, still pushing back the giggle threatening to burst out. "You're guilt tripping me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said simply, drooping his shoulders and sighing dramatically.

"It's not gonna work. I'm not Steve."

"Hey!" Steve called, once again poking his head out with a glare.

Bucky's eyes lit up. "You're right! Steve, come here!"

"No, no, no, stop!" Steve cried out, jumping backwards and trying to shut the bathroom door before Bucky reached it. Unfortunately for him, Bucky managed to jam his foot in, before dragging the smaller boy out. "Bucky, no!" But despite his cries, Steve was clearly also trying to smother a smile.

"Here, if I can't make you guilty, I'll blackmail Stevie here," Bucky exclaimed, hands clasping around his wrists as Steve dragged his feet, now laughing openly. "I'll have to make _him_ come to the lunch with me. Aaaaand let's go!"

He started prancing around the room, singing some wordless song loudly as Steve was dragged along, feet stumbling under him as he tried to pull himself free. All three of us were breaking down into laughter, until Steve was doubled over, clutching his ribs, and Bucky had to lean against the wall for support, grinning stupidly.

"Fine, fine, I said I'll go, so I'll go," I grinned, collapsing into the nearby chair. "No dancing lessons today, though, okay?"

"Sounds good to me," Bucky answered breathlessly, a satisfied smile on his face before he ducked into the bathroom, tossing Steve his asthma medication as he continued to try to catch his breath.

The next few days went by in a blur. Before I knew it, I was fussing over which dress to wear to the luncheon, and Bucky was simply poking fun of me. We were at my apartment, Bucky slouched across my couch as I continually pulled items of clothing out of my closet.

"It's not that big of a deal, I swear," he assured me, for what felt like the hundredth time. "It's only a few hours. Everyone is gonna be their with their girls, it's not a competition."

"Well I'm invested in this now," I brushed him off, trying to blow some stray hairs from out of my face and failing miserably. Then, I held out two dresses, holding both at arms length."Which color?"

"Does it matter?"

"Just answer. Which one?"

"Blue," he answered, shrugging lopsidedly. I held out the two dresses again, eyeing them before nodding.

"I'm wearing the red one."

"Why did you even bother asking me!" Bucky protested, scoffing good-naturedly. I winked at him, and he settled himself deeper in the couch. "You're lucky, this is the best weather we've had in weeks."

"Think we'll see any flowers blooming?" I asked, ducking behind a divider to change.

"Doubt it."

"Well, I'll take what I can get."

Bucky snorted, then paused for a few moments as I slipped the dress over my head. "I like the buttons on the blue one."

I stood on tiptoe to glare over the top of the divider. "The red one has buttons too."

"But not the same kind," Bucky retorted, a high pitched whine easing into his voice. I rolled my eyes, the corner of my mouth curling upwards in spite of myself.

"I'll keep that in mind," I teased, before I smoothed out the skirt, taking a moment to straighten it. Then, I strained a bit, trying to reach the small clasp behind my neck. "Hey, could you help me? I can't reach the last button."

I heard him move off the couch, still mumbling some nonsense about buttons, before feeling his fingers brush against the back of my neck, quickly sliding the clasp into place. Then, I spun around, smiling brightly and bouncing on the balls of my feet.

"How do I look?"

Bucky took a step back, nodding a bit to himself. "Spin for me, doll, that'll make or break it." I rolled my eyes again, feeling my face warm a bit, before twirling in place. Once I stopped after a couple seconds, Bucky was grinning, holding his hand out to me. "It's perfect."

I took his hand, sliding into place next to him. "I'm glad. But in all honesty, I felt very silly. And now I'm dizzy."

"You didn't look silly," he retorted, lifting our hands over my head so I spun around slowly, still smiling, before tucking my hand in the crook of his elbow. "Ready to go?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

It was about a twenty minute walk down to the docks, but Bucky was right, the weather was absolutely beautiful. Families and couples alike were strewn across most patches of grass, soaking in the warmth that finally broke through the long winter. Spring was definitely on the horizon, the sun bright and a lovely breeze swelling through the air.

I always seemed to forget how easy it was to talk to Bucky. He slid from one topic to another with ease, his arm looped so my hand laid comfortably on it. He was, in a word, charming. In many words, he was annoying, brash, and unbelievably likeable despite all that, unafraid to show himself to the world and ready to accept anything that came his way.

He glanced at me, eyes catching the sunlight as he grinned. "What are you lookin' at?"

I took in a breath, shaking my head suddenly as I laughed. "Nothing, nothing. I just realized I never really thanked you."

He raised an eyebrow. "For… lying to my co-workers and making you pretend to be my girlfriend?"

"No!" I scoffed, bumping into Bucky's side as he laughed. "Heavens no. I mean for sticking around with me." Bucky opened his mouth, his ears starting to redden, before I held up a hand. "Hey, you got your whole thank you spiel months ago, let me give mine!"

He smiled bashfully, tilting his head towards me as if to say, _Go ahead._

"Listen," I started, pursing my lips slightly before continuing. "I… I've been by myself for a long time. And that isn't a bad thing, by any means, but I have never really fit in with other people. But you guys… I don't know. As cheesy as it sounds, you have kinda become the closest thing I've had to family in a while. Except when you lie to your co-workers and make me pretend to be your girlfriend," I teased, and Bucky made a show of rolling his eyes.

"Yeah yeah, am I ever going to hear the end of this?"

"Never."

I was in a much better mood than I expected to be in by the time we reached the docks, the large wooden platform lively and surprisingly void of boats. As soon as we stepped into the crowd, a large man with a larger mustache swept towards us, booming with laughter as he clapped Bucky on the shoulder.

"Glad you could make it, Buchanan!" He grinned, and Bucky shrugged.

"Gonna be honest with you pal, if I'd have known you'd be here, I wouldn't have come," he shot back at him, grinning as the same loud laughter filled the air. Then, he turned to me, gently setting his hand on my waist. "Harry, this is Asa. And Asa, this is Rob Harrison. He's an old friend of mine, pretty much got me the job."

Harrison tipped his hat towards me, and I couldn't help but give a small curtsey on return. "It's nice to meet you," I offered, and the man winked with a chuckle.

"Y'know, there was a small wager between the boys. Most thought you'd bail, thought you were lyin' about your girl. Luckily for me, I'm going home with my pockets a little heavier," Harrison said, raising his voice for the last sentence. He earned a few good-natured eye-rolls as a result, before those same people begrudgingly waved at Bucky. He waved back, clearly pleased with himself for some reason.

"I feel like I should have that profit, not you," he pointed out, still smiling brightly. I was suddenly growing increasingly aware that his hand was still lying on my waist, feather light and warm, and I felt my face grow pink.

"Yeah yeah," Harrison grumbled, smirking. "I'll pitch you a half dollar, yeah?"

"Deal," Bucky agreed, holding out a hand. The larger man shook it, before clapping him on the shoulder once more.

"I'll see you around, Buchanan," Harrison grinned widely. "Don't be a stranger."

"You got it."

As the man walked away, Bucky turned to me, his hand swiftly pulling away from my waist. I self consciously smoothed down my dress, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. "He was nice," I offered, and he chuckled.

"He's very… present, I'll say that," he countered, his mouth settling into an easy smile and his eyes warm. Then, clearly hesitant, he held out his hand to me, his question unspoken but nevertheless clear to me. I found myself rolling my eyes, sliding my hand into his.

"You're loving this aren't you?" I jabbed at him, as his hand squeezed mine playfully, warm and firm.

"Honestly, I might propose to you right now," he shot back without hesitation, a cheesy grin plastered onto his face. "That's absolutely how much I love this."

Hand in hand, we walked further into the party. There was music playing, an old record player sitting on a table far too close to the water than I would have liked, though no one else seemed to pay that much attention. Couples were dancing, others watching, and a small bundle of women watched with clear annoyance as their dates gleefully grabbed at glasses of whiskey another one had procured. The party wasn't large, probably less than forty people in all. But it was beyond lively. There was a comfort and general happiness that seemed to swell into a surprisingly excitable environment, and most of the apprehension I felt had dissipated. Bucky introduced me to several people along the way, some clearly as excited as Harrison that I was by his side.

It was clear Bucky was quite popular among the group, easily and quickly offering banter and laughs among the other men. I had rarely seen him interact with many people other than Steve and myself, and it was a pleasant surprise to see him keep up his charm, especially when he had whispered his distaste for some before plastering on a smile and treating them like an old friend.

"Hey," he muttered to me, leaning so his face was turned to mine, his words breezing against my ear. "Come on, I wanna show you something."

He led me to the back of the docks, where the water lapped up against the wood and we were the only ones standing there. He knelt down, tugging at the laces on his shoes before glancing up at me, a smirk playing on the corners of his mouth.

"Come on, shoes off."

I couldn't help but smile as I kicked mine off, far quicker than Bucky as he rolled his trousers up his leg a bit. "If you push me in," I started, a warning playfulness in my tone. Bucky shook his head.

"Wouldn't dream of it, darling, just get down here." He swivelled his body before dunking his legs in the water, which lapped about midway up his calf. I was quick to follow suit, a brief gasp breaking the relative silence as the stinging cold enveloped my feet. Bucky's shoulders shook a bit as he laughed. "It's April, did you expect a warm bath?"

"Shut up," I grinned, tucking a loose piece of hair behind my ear.

"Okay okay, just look," he said, a smile brightening his words as he gazed out over the water.

The sun had begun to set, casting jets of pinks and oranges across the darkening sky. The buildings in the distance stood out as stark shadows in comparison, giving the illusion that it was simply an image stamped on a painted background. The lights were reflecting in the water below, morphing and stretching with each disturbance and ripple. It was truly mesmerising, a beauty I had seen before but rarely had a chance to truly appreciate.

"Wow," I breathed, feeling a content sigh breeze through my chest.

"I know, right?"

"You know those moments, where you wish time would just… stop? Or you can memorize every detail?" I asked quietly, dropping my head to the side so my ear grazed my shoulder. "Y'know, without the memory being tainted."

Bucky seemed to think for a moment before answering.

"No."

I laughed. "Well this is one of them. For me."

"Okay, okay, that I get," he corrected himself, shaking his head. "I don't know what you mean about the 'tainted memory' thing."

I shrugged, taking a breath. "It's like… you think of something so often, that what actually happened is overtaken by how you remember it. Rather than it being truthful, it's what you _want_ to remember."

"Like what?" He asked, clearly intrigued.

I opened my mouth before snapping it closed, a hot rush of panic swelling in my stomach. Because, without even thinking about it, I was about to tell him about Asgard. And not some twisted story that would conceal my secret; I wanted to tell him everything. But, far more overwhelming, I was afraid if I did, I would be forced to be alone again. And that terrified me.

"I don't know," I said instead, guilt twinging my heart in spite of myself. "It's stupid."

"So what?"

I blinked.

"A lot of things are stupid," he continued, a smile gracing his face as he glanced at me. "Like this party. But that doesn't mean that it can't be meaningful."

"What a philosopher," I teased, trying to ignore the warmth blooming in my chest.

"Okay, fine. I am taking it upon myself to remember this moment, right here, perfectly. That's an oath, and I don't break promises. Except when I do, but those don't count," he said quickly, the corner of his mouth curling up, before bumping his shoulder into mine. "Alright, come on, we should get home before it gets too dark."

Goodbyes were quick, mostly because several other people had decided to leave then as well. Once again, Bucky had held his hand out to me, and we walked with our hands intertwined off the docks. As soon as we were out of sight from everyone else, however, we pulled our hands away, awkward little laughter filling the air as I crossed my arms and he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"I think we fooled them," he offered, his eyes soft as he looked down at me. I simply nodded back, not able to help the grin that sprang to my face.

Maybe it was just the way the quickly fading sunlight had been cast on the ground, or maybe it was completely coincidental that I had managed to look at that particular patch of earth, but I felt my face brighten as my eye caught the tiny blue flower that had sprung up along the grass.

"Hey!" I beamed, eagerly pointing at the little bud. "Flower! You were _so _wrong!"

"Because there was any way to definitively say there would be one," Bucky rolled his eyes, smiling fondly at me as I stuck my tongue out at him.

"It's even blue," I commented, spinning around to catch up with Bucky as he began to walk away. His eyebrows scrunched up.

"Why does it being blue make a difference?"

"Well, you wanted the _blue _dress. It's perfect for you, your favorite color and all."

He considered what I said for a moment, before he shrugged. "Blue isn't my favorite color," he seemed to decide. I raised an eyebrow.

"What is it then?"

Once again, he paused, before his mouth curved into the slightest smile.

"Red."


	13. Chapter 11 - In This Together

The season had finally shifted, the last clutches of winter giving way to a beautiful spring. Flowers dotted the grass and the parks, and even when the sun was hidden behind the ever present rain clouds, there still seemed to be a tangible sense of relief from the warmer weather.

I quickly made my way up the stairs to the apartment that wasn't mine, but was quickly becoming home. My hand curled around the railing as I leaned heavily to the side, my body swinging to the next flight of steps and my hair falling freely across my back. "Good morning, Mrs. Daley!" I called out at I caught sight of the boys' landlady, Connie, her dark hair streaked with grey and her eyes tired as she smiled at me in return.

"Morning! Didn't expect to see you here so early," She greeted, propping her front door open with her foot as she leaned against it. I shrugged.

"Early bird gets the worm, right?"

She laughed, before her face grew a bit more serious. "Do you know about…?"

For a split second, I was doused with some confusion. Steve had gotten sick a few days beforehand, nothing too serious, but enough for us to be a bit worried. I didn't know Connie was included in the people who knew, but I figured Bucky must have told her.

"Oh, yeah," I folded my arms, taking a breath. "Yeah, it's kinda rough."

"I just… I wish I could do more. I'm sure Bucky is upset with me, I don't blame him, but times are hard right now," she continued, voice straining slightly as she pinched the bridge of her nose with a sigh. The confusion I felt seemed to triple, suddenly crowding worry into what had previously been an uneventful morning.

"I don't… I don't think he'd be mad," I offered, mind racing. I had the distinct feeling that she and I were discussing two very different things.

"Listen, if you're going up there…" she sighed, holding her hands over her heart. "Tell them I can extend their deadline until next month. I might be able to set them up in another apartment, but I don't think I can do much more. I'm so, so sorry, Asa, make sure you let them know, okay?"

As she closed the door, I could feel how pale I must have been, the nausea that wrenched my stomach. My mind had fallen completely blank, painfully so, as I seemed to float the rest of the way to the apartment.

Opening the front door, I was met with Steve and Bucky sat at the dining room table, the former leaned back in his seat, blanket draped over his shoulders and his eyes closed, as if in a full bodied groan, while the latter seemed to have been pouring over some sort of list. Steve cracked one eye open as I walked in, one hand flapping up in way of hello.

"Oh, hey," Bucky muttered, giving me a half-smile as he flipped the paper over. "I made some oatmeal, it's in the pot if you're hungry."

"Are you going to lose the apartment?" I asked, voice barely above a whisper. Steve nearly fell out of his chair as the front legs slammed back to the ground, the blanket spilling onto his lap.

Bucky's face darkened. "Why did she tell you," he grumbled, settling further in his chair.

"Why didn't _you_?" I retorted.

"Listen," he sighed, restlessly running a hand through his hair. "It's just… been a tough winter. We've been short on rent, money's been slow. Not to mention, Steve's been–"

"Oh, so this is _my _fault!" Steve snapped, crossing his arms tightly and slouching down as far as he could in the chair. As childish as it was, it was clear he was fuming.

"I did not say that," Bucky shot back at him, a sharpness in his voice that surprised me. This was by far the most upset I had seen either of them, a quick snap from the simmering tension beforehand. "Don't you dare twist this into some attack on you."

"Oh I'm _so_ sorry, Buck, do continue to groan about losing the apartment that _I _talked you into getting, the one _you _insisted I moved into after mom died."

"You wanna go there? Are you kidding me!?"

"Please stop," I muttered, dropping into my own chair before rearranging my skirt. They both ignored me.

"Sorry to break it to you, pal, but if it weren't for me, you'd be homeless. Oh, let's go a step further, you'd definitely be dead right now. You aren't some victim of this, stop trying to blame this all on me," Bucky growled, hands curled into fists on top of the table. The paper was long forgotten, pushed off to the side so it was lying precariously by the edge.

"Because you have no fault in this?" Steve demanded, his face flushing.

"Well at least I'm trying to do something about it."

Steve stiffened, his eyes dark and his lip curling up in a mockery of a sneer. Without saying another word, he silently stood, jamming his arms in a jacket and his feet in his shoes, not bothering to lace them up before he fumbled with the front doorknob.

"Steve, wait–" Bucky tried, guilt already written in his voice, but the door slammed shut before he could continue.

He cursed under his breath, tangling his hands back into his hair as he dropped his gaze to the tabletop. I wanted to say something, anything, but the right words wouldn't come to mind. And I was afraid the wrong words would only do worse.

"Are you going to leave?" Bucky grumbled, voice pinched and brittle.

"No."

There was a pause, before he whispered a soft, "Okay."

Several minutes passed, and I found myself moving about the apartment, picking up the long discarded blanket and rearranging the pillows. Soon after, I moved on to wash up some dishes, still sitting in that tense silence only interrupted by the running water and an occasional sigh.

"I shouldn't have blamed Steve," Bucky finally rasped, clearly fighting back some mix of emotions I couldn't quite read.

"Nope," I agreed, turning the water off and drying my hands.

"I should have told you about this place."

"I know why you didn't."

"I just don't know what to do," he finished, finally looking up from where his face had been buried in his hands. I was surprised to see the redness in his eyes, how dark the circles were beneath him. I sat back at the table, swallowing before taking a steadying breath.

"If you need more money, I can pick up some extra shifts at the shop," I offered, already suspecting Bucky's response.

"You hate that job." He forced a short laugh, shaking his head.

"Yeah, yeah, who doesn't hate their job," I retorted, but his face grew more serious as he continued to shake his head. "Bucky, I know this place is important to you. It's important to me. I don't want you to lose it."

"You think I do?" He muttered miserably, rubbing his forehead. "I don't want you to have to give up your life for my problems."

"They aren't just your problems, Buck," I said quietly, and his eyes shot to mine, shining with unshed tears. I'd never seen him cry before, had barely seen him sad. The sight of it made my heart twinge. "We're in this together now."

He blinked, before rapidly rubbing at his eyes. "Jeez, I don't know what's wrong with me," he muttered, sniffing with a laugh.

"A lot," I mused, smiling as he rolled his eyes. "Do you have any idea how we might fix this?"

He shook his head, pulling the abandoned paper back in front of his with a finger. "Not really. We were trying to put together some budget, but we barely had enough as it was to pay rent. But then with Steve's medicine bills… it sorta just got out of hand. We're a month or two behind, I knew it wouldn't last."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"My parents, I guess. I mean, we have some friends, but I doubt they'd house us for longer than a night or two."

"Why don't you stay at my place?" I offered, but he scoffed at the idea.

"Y'know how Con was, if she knew you crashed here even once, she would have flipped. I doubt your complex has more lenient rules than she does," he muttered, sighing deeply and scribbling a mess of inked lines at the bottom of the page. He was right, the few times I opted to stay the night at their apartment, it was completely against the rules. One morning, a well meaning neighbor came by far earlier than should have been proper, leading to a mad scramble of me leaping into the bathroom, still half asleep, and hoping we didn't make too much noise in the process. After all, despite how innocent it might have been, noise would inevitably spread of a girl spending the night in the two bachelor's place, and rumors would be quick turn nasty. So, as much as I wished it weren't the case, I had to agree with Bucky.

"So we can't do anything?" I asked, desperately wishing it weren't so.

"Well…" he started, and I lifted my eyebrows. "Steve and I were thinking about a big heist to rob a bank." I must have looked startled, because Bucky started to laugh, though it was quick to die out. "We can't do anything," he reaffirmed, taking in a huge breath and letting it out slowly.

An uneventful morning indeed.

I spent most of the day at their apartment, Bucky and I combing through newspapers to try to find either an available job or, more likely, another apartment. Steve hadn't come back home, much to Bucky's dismay, but we both knew he was smart. He would have found somewhere to go.

"What about Queens?" I offered, pen in hand as the tip moved to the next listing. Bucky made a face.

"What next, Jersey?"

"What's wrong with Jersey?"

His jaw dropped as he stared at me in shock. "Get out," he finally said, one finger pointing stubbornly at the door.

"Hey, it looks like there's an open unit in my building!" I changed the subject abruptly, and I caught Bucky try to smother a smile. "Ooh, it's real small though. Way smaller than this place."

"Well ain't that swell," Bucky jabbed sarcastically, peeking over at the paper. "Yeah, that's one person, tops."

I sighed, leaning back and taking a moment to glance around the apartment. "This place really was great."

"And we finally replaced that lamp we broke," Bucky joined in, clearly feeling as nostalgic as I always seemed to be.

I threw a glare his direction. "Who broke what lamp?"

It was his turn to throw the conversation in another direction. "Oh, or when our dumb couch broke?"

I chuckled, glancing over to the sofa. Indeed, one of the legs had completely splintered, and we had made do by stacking a few old books beneath it. It was far from perfect, and the left end still slanted ever so slightly downward, but we never minded too much. "Why are so many things in here broken?"

"Eh, they always make for a good story," Bucky reasoned, his smile stiffening slightly as his eyes grew sad. "It's just… a shame. I'm sure there was something I could have done differently."

"Well, if you did, there's nothing we can do now to change that," I tilted my head at him, tugging on my fingers absentmindedly. "Things will work out one way or another."

"That's a… very optimistic way to look at this," he sighed, running a hand down his face.

"Nothing wrong with that."

"I mean… Things always work out, until they don't. And we might not get out of that."

I felt the corners of my mouth tug downwards. "Bucky…"

I couldn't find it in me to continue whatever sentence I started, and it only took a few seconds before Bucky cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"My aunt's getting married next month."

I blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, me and Steve were invited. You should come too," he continued, something about his voice and posture hinting he wanted to drop the previous conversation.

"Steve and I," I corrected, smiling softly, and he nodded, leaning back in his seat.

"Yeah, you and Steve, that's what I said. Plus, you can meet my whole family, they'll all be there." His eyes suddenly glinted, and he seemed to be fighting a smile. "We'd want you to meet them before _we_ get married, after all."

I leaned across the table, smacking his arm lightly as he laughed.

"Lucky for you, I _like_ weddings," I teased him as he made a show of rubbing his arm.

"It's a date, then."

"Don't test your luck, Barnes."

"It's getting late," Bucky sighed, pushing around a few lonely potatoes from our dinner around his plate. "Sorry you wasted your day on nothing."

"Wasting my day on nothing is my specialty," I smiled, rolling up another newspaper. "I really don't mind. And I'll keep looking once I get back home."

He smiled at me, the corners of his eyes crinkling. "Thanks, Ace."

"Don't stay up too late."

"You really aren't bossy. That was cute though."

"I hate you."

"Love ya too. See you tomorrow."

The door closed with a click.

I breathed out a sigh, closing my eyes and trying to enjoy the cool breeze. I wasn't worried, or even sad for that matter, about the apartment. No, in a word, I felt… numb. As if I were viewing this entire situation as an outsider.

I felt like that was how I was treating a lot of things in my life. And I felt like I was bursting at the seams keeping it all in.

_Banished._

_Secret._

_Apartment._

_Magic._

_Bucky._

_Loki._

_Alpha._

_Steve._

_Heimdall._

_Don't let them find out_

I swallowed, taking a slow breath through my tightened lungs. Everything seemed too familiar, echoing the same sentiments to the point it was entirely foreign. In one case too mundane and the other twisting into something I never thought I'd experience. And in all truth, I didn't know which was which anymore.

I wrapped my sweater tighter around me, starting the short trek on the uneven street back to my apartment.

Things always worked out in the end.

I never particularly enjoyed the lonesome walk back to my apartment, but despite that, I couldn't help but let the serene calm of the drowsy night seep into my mind, leaning my head back to watch the sky darken and for a star or two to shine through the clouds. Even when I reached my building, I had forced other thoughts to cycle through my mind.

Of course, all of those disappeared when I went to open my front door, only to find it already unlocked.

A spike of unease shot through my heart, my leg tensing in spite of the flood of excuses as to why it was unlocked. I stood as still as I could, trying to remember if I even locked the door before I left. No, I definitely had, I even ran back to make sure it was. I slowly tucked my now useless key into the pocket of my cardigan, allowing the buzz of energy I now rarely used to pool at my fingertips, feeling the golden fire flood through my eyes.

And saw my entire life flash before my eyes as the door suddenly yanked open, revealing a very unsuspecting Steve Rogers.

"Oh, for crying– you scared me half to death!" I hissed out between my teeth, feeling the energy in my palms fizzle out as quickly as it came. Steve only shrugged, an amused smile quirking up the corner of his mouth.

"Sorry. I heard you at the door," he shrugged, running a hand through his hair before flattening it down. "Well, I assumed it was you. I guess someone else might have had a key."

"You didn't. How'd you get in here?"

"I guessed where you hid your spare." He chuckled as my eyes flicked to the small painting hanging a little ways down the hall. "I think we spend too much time together."

I shook my head, trying to hide the small smile that was pushing the corners of my mouth upwards. "My neighbor also keeps her keys behind there, y'know."

"Oh yeah, I saw that. Hope you don't mind, I raided your pantry."

"I'm fine with you literally breaking into my home, but _nooo_, I draw the line at my pantry."

Part of me was preparing myself to launch into the same discussion I had with Bucky. Part of me hoped Steve would just try to ignore the outburst from this morning, and leave us until the next day to sort through those emotions. But judging from the way his jaw grew increasingly more taut, and the way he kept glancing at me, seeming to curl in on himself, I had a feeling that awkward avoidance wouldn't last.

"Wanna talk about it?" I asked softly, watching his fist clench.

"No," he grumbled, before he shook his head. "Yes! Yes, I do. Because I am _so_ fed up with that guy. Jeez, I'm sorry you feel stuck with me, but it's not my fault! It's not my fault, and I wish it was because at least then I can point the finger and we'll all be happy, but no, instead I get his _pity _and his _guilt _that _he _can't do enough. And before you try to say something to defend him, just… just don't. Let me be angry."

"You're always angry," I tried to tease him, but only succeeding in earning myself a withering glare.

"Don't," he sighed, shaking his head. "Please."

"Sorry," I murmured, sliding up to sit on the counter.

He huffed out yet another sigh, tousling his hair so it was sticking every which way. "What'd he say," he said flatly, eyes still glowering. A very strange look combined with his mussed up hair.

"Honestly?" I started, shrugging. "Nothing. But he was glancing at the door every three seconds, looking like a lost puppy waiting for you to get back."

"Good."

"It's not like you didn't say some nasty things too."

"Oh, come _on _Ace! Stop trying to try to fix everything!" Steve cried, leaning forward exasperatedly as he threw his hands up. I blinked.

"I… I'm just trying to help."

"I know, but you really can't. You can't, okay? We're fighting. That's that."

"Well maybe I don't want you guys to fight!" I argued, before trying to calm my voice as his eyes narrowed slightly. "You guys are my best friends!"

"It's not like we aren't friends anymore, we aren't just breaking up," Steve grumbled. "We fight. We hate each other. And then we don't. It's normal. But I'm in the middle of hating him, and I'd appreciate it if you left me that way."

I sat there for a few moments, absentmindedly chewing on my lip. Part of me understood what he was saying, and a far larger part thought he was being a complete idiot. I understood arguing. But this? Was this really how 'normal' people treated each other?

"Okay," I said softly, trying to ignore the way Steve looked at me, as if he were surprised. "As long as we're gonna be good."

"If not, I give you permission to rub that in my face for the rest of my life," Steve assured me, quickly sitting completely straight and holding up three fingers. "Scout's honor."

"You were not a Boy Scout," I pressed, propping my elbow on my knee and setting my chin into my palm. Steve shrugged, but didn't give an answer before changing the topic.

The rest of the night passed slowly, though I didn't mind. We let the radio play and we lazily listened to my upstairs neighbors move around, and Steve tried and failed to braid my hair. It was nice, but disjointed, sticking out like a sore thumb in comparison to the rest of my day.

"Wait, so how do you do those ones where it goes… like, uh, like together?" Steve asked, as I gingerly felt the lopsided braid falling over my shoulder.

"That's a whole other process. It's French, I think. Harder to learn," I teased him, and he chuckled.

"Why can't it just be one type, why is it they have to go and make things weird and complicated," he complained. "Not to mention, it's not like I had a place to learn this stuff. Buck used to do his sister's hair, so sure, he's a natural. I don't know a thing."

"I don't know why you want to learn, but I'm fine to let you practice on me. Just don't pull my hair out, alright?"

"It's not you I'm worried about, it's me and my poor arms."

I laughed, before we lapsed back into a comfortable silence. Eventually, Steve gave a huge faux yawn, stretching and insisting I needed to give up the couch for him to sleep.

As I got ready for sleep myself, I couldn't help but think back over the day, something nagging on my mind, as if there was something I missed. Something important. I undid the braid in my hair, still deep in thought.

_It's not you I'm worried about, it's me._

I felt my eyes widen, my heart leap inside my chest.

Against all odds, maybe our solution was much closer than we thought.

I didn't end up seeing either Bucky or Steve for the next two days. It wasn't uncommon to spend days apart, or even a couple weeks at a time. But I couldn't help but feel slightly guilty about it this time around.

I slung my bag over my shoulder, taking a breath. There were a lot of emotions running through my head. Guilt, indecision. A bit of fear. A want to be more selfless than I was.

Doubt.

I pushed it all down, trying to focus more on the excitement, the eagerness that also took root in the mess of emotions I always seemed to have. And that feeling stuck with me as I all but ran to the boys' apartment, ignoring the annoyed glances from passing people.

"It's me!" I shouted as I opened the door, hurriedly catching the doorknob once more as it almost slammed against the wall. I was met with complete silence. "Bucky? Steve?"

For a moment, fear gripped at me, all the worst case scenarios as to where they were, what could have happened to them dashing through my head like lightning.

Then, all at once, they subsided, another though worming its way into my head.

_You are very impulsive. And not very observant._

"I really haven't changed much at all," I muttered to myself, shaking my head and smiling softly at the fading memory of the Bifrost and the chastisement of a woman I continued to admire.

"Why are you in such a rush?" A voice chimed in behind me, and I swivelled to see Bucky, who grinned at me from behind two large boxes stacked in his arms. "You ran right by me, I barely saw it was you."

"The better question is why do you keep your door unlocked?" I retorted, moving into the living room as Bucky nudged the door closed with his foot.

"I was literally a floor below us."

"Where's Steve?"

"Uh, I think he's out doing deliveries," he answered simply, sliding the boxes onto the counter and leaning against it, crossing his arms. "I don't think he'll be out too much longer."

I tried, and mostly failed, to keep a grin off my face, and he rolled his eyes. "What?" I asked innocently.

"Spit it out," he said, his voice lifting as if to mock my tone.

"No, we're waiting for Steve."

"Tell me."

"No."

"Please?"

"Fine."

He smiled widely, the corners of his eyes crinkling and his face smug in victory. "Okay, go."

I took a breath, both hands fastening around the strap of my bag. "I got the money for your apartment."

The smile didn't fade from his face, not immediately, but his eyes lost the emotion behind it. "What?" He demanded, surprise lacing his voice.

"I got the money! Here," I reached into my bag, pulling out a small envelope full of bills and placing it gently onto the table, fully ignoring Bucky as he gaped at me. "That should be enough, right?"

"No no, how did you get this?"

"Calm down, Barnes, it's not dirty money or anything." He huffed out a small laugh, shaking his head lightly as the corner of his mouth twitched upward. "You remember that little apartment we found in my building?"

"Yeah?"

"It's mine now. I sold my apartment, bought that one, and am giving you the extra."

He went quiet, letting out a slow breath as he closed his eyes. "Asa, I can't."

I felt my heart sink a little in my chest, trying desperately to stem the regret thrumming through my veins. "Sure you can?" I couldn't help the question that overtook the sentence.

Bucky smiled at me, a sad one that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm grateful, immeasurably so, but really, you don't need to do this for us."

I felt my eyebrows scrunch together, and I opened my mouth before closing it, trying to find the right words.

"No, I want to give it to you," I said slowly, heart pounding. "I do. I don't need to do anything for you, but I _want _to."

His entire face seemed to soften, and he ran a hand through his hair. "But your apartment–"

"I don't care about my apartment!" I insisted, voice creeping upwards. "I really don't, okay? But I care about you, and I care about Steve, and I care about _this _stupid place. You guys are… are pretty much the only people I have." To my horror, I felt my eyes prickle with tears, and I began to blink rapidly, desperately hoping they wouldn't spill over. "And I need to do something to help you guys, I need to feel like I'm doing something good, something helpful, okay? Please?"

Neither of us moved immediately, as I ducked my head down to hide my surely reddening face and he seemed to be processing my outburst. Then, he spoke again, his words slow and careful.

"I'm going to pay you back."

I looked up at him. "What?"

He reached out and picked the envelope up, pointing it towards me with a soft smile. "This is a loan. I'm gonna give it back to you, mark my words."

I laughed, but nodded, tucking my hair behind my ear. "Okay."

"I'm also gonna come and hug you."

"No," I responded, shaking my head fondly. He ignored me, arms open wide as he walked swiftly around the table. "No!"

"Come here!" He growled, laughing as I let out a shriek, his arms suddenly pinning mine to my side, and I squirmed against his embrace.

"Bucky!" I giggled, face flushed with laughter. "Bucky, okay, let me hug you too, let go!"

He did so, grinning from ear to ear, before I bolted away, and he groaned good naturedly. "Liar!"

"You gotta do what you gotta do," I answered simply, reaching around and grasping onto a pillow, holding it out like a weapon. Then, my gaze snapped back to the couch, where the space the pillow was in revealed a familiar face. "Steve?"

He grinned, clearly abashed, before sitting up, several pillows and blankets falling away as a result. "Hi."

Bucky broke down into peals of laughter, as I simply gaped at Steve. "What…?"

"Well I _was _gonna try to scare you guys, but then things got kinda serious and it didn't exactly seem the time!" He exclaimed, now giggling alongside Bucky. "It was supposed to be funny!"

"Oh, bud, this," Bucky wheezed, pointing vaguely at the couch Steve was still half buried in. "This is hilarious."

"Why am I friends with you guys," I asked, voice completely flat, though not trying to fight the fond smile creeping onto my face.

"Why not!" Bucky grinned, finally composed enough to help pull Steve out of the mountain of pillows, throwing me a lopsided shrug in the process.

I chuckled softly, fully content in the softened atmosphere.

Why not indeed.


End file.
